Deciphering the health profile of police personnel in the Jaipur Commissionerate

Abstract

Background: Since its founding, the police force has required its employees to operate in hazardous and stressful conditions, and today's force is exposed to physically demanding tasks, irregular working hours, high levels of stress, and encounters with dangerous situations. Dealing with some of society's most difficult social problems. It is a line of work in which employees may be exposed to traumatic situations in which their health and well-being are directly jeopardised. Unhealthy lifestyles and demanding work conditions predispose the police force to a variety of non-communicable as well as communicable diseases. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2018 and November 2020 on a representative sample of 4263 across various ranks and units posted in the jurisdiction area of the Jaipur commissionerate. Results: The age group of the study was from 35 to 60 years of age, with a mean age of 50 years. Out of the total sample, the response rate was 96%. The average height and weight were 173.09 cm and 77.48 kg, respectively. The basal metabolic index (BMI) was 25.9 on average. Conclusions: By improving the overall well-being of police officers, not only can their quality of life be enhanced, but their effectiveness in ensuring public safety and maintaining law and order can also be optimised.