Health Promotion and Protection For Oregon Correctional Officers

Background: Despite Correctional Officers (CO's) having high rates of cardiovascular disease, stress, injury, illness and absenteeism, and premature disability, CO's working in U.S. institutions have received limited study and no evidence-based occupational wellness programs exist. The Health Promotion & Protection For Oregon Correctional Officers study is one of the transdiciplinary research projects funded by NIOSH under the Oregon Healthy WorkForce Center of Excellence. We present initial health risk assessment data from Oregon CO's working in three different security level prisons (minimum, medium, and maximum security). Methods: 210 CO's from three different security level Oregon prisons including two minimum security, one medium security, and one maximum security prison completed an anonymous health risk assessment survey. Results: Significant differences were observed for stress and alcohol consumption among CO's working at different sites. While years on the job were similar, CO's working at the maximum security prison reported significantly higher work stress (p=.013), higher alcohol consumption (p=.040) and more concern by others about alcohol intake (p=.008) compared to CO's working at a minimum security prison. CDC Missed Days correlated significantly with more work stress (p<0.001), and less sleep, unhealthy eating habits, and not exercising (p<0.01 for each), suggesting a lifestyle and stress intervention may be effective for these high risk workers. Conclusions: These findings indicate that CO's working at higher security level prisons had higher reported levels of stress and alcohol consumption as compared to CO's working at a minimum security prison, and lifestyle and stress reducing interventions may benefit these vulnerable workers.