Law Enforcement Workers Research Articles

Association Between Employment Factors and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in US Law Enforcement Workers: The National Health Interview Survey, 2006-2018.

Law enforcement workers face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), however, employment factors impacting CVD remain systematically understudied, particularly in a national US sample. We describe temporal trends in prevalent CVD including coronary heart disease (CHD), angina, myocardial infarction (MI) and other heart disease; and investigate associations of select employment factors with CVD among law enforcement workers using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2006 to 2018. We analyzed prevalent CVD in law enforcement workers employed in local, state, and federal establishments using the NHIS, a nationally representative sample of US workers. We estimated odds ratios (OR [95% confidence interval, CI]) of CVD in relation to employment factors using survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and traditional CVD risk factors. Among 2177 law enforcement workers, mean age 46 years, 19% female, prevalence of CVD was higher among disabled (OR = 5.37; 95% CI: 2.53, 11.38 for aggregate CVD outcome) and retired (OR = 2.14; 95% CI: 1.18, 3.88 for aggregate CVD outcome) workers compared to currently employed workers. Workers employed in smaller (1-24 employees) or larger (≥ 500 employees) departments and those with tenure > 20 years also demonstrated higher prevalence odds of select CVD outcomes. Although not statistically significant, higher prevalence odds across CVD outcomes were observed in local government employees, hourly paid workers, and workers with 10-19 years of tenure. Our study highlights that select employment factors, some previously underexplored, may be associated with prevalent CVD in law enforcement workers. Leveraging national surveys and worker cohorts to enhance surveillance of identified groups in this high-risk population could help elucidate the role of employment on CVD development and inform workplace interventions.

Race, Lived Experience, Representation, and Discrimination: Analyzing the Representative Capacities of the Racial Majority

The representative bureaucracy theory literature has often focused on the viewpoints, attitudes, and actions of minoritized groups rather than the racial majority, with studies predominately analyzing representative capacities tied to race, ethnicity, and gender. The current research employs both racial and lived experience representation lenses to analyze the viewpoints of non-Hispanic white public servants regarding the deservingness of white, Black, and unidentified clients. Using the opioid crisis as the context, results from an exploratory analysis of a nationwide survey experiment of first responders show that white law enforcement workers view white clients with opioid use disorder as more deserving than Black and unidentified clients. Both indirect and direct lived experiences with substance use disorder predict positive attitudes toward clients. Direct lived experience nullifies the negative beliefs white law enforcement workers express about Black clients, highlighting the significance of the intersection of racial and lived experience representation. Practical implications include promoting organizational practices that leverage the strength of shared lived experience to mitigate racial biases and encourage compassion for clients.

Health Behaviour of Police Officers in Relation to Hypertension. Observations from a Hungarian County

"The aim of this study is to assess the health behavior of those who are treated for high blood pressure among law enforcement officers, compared to those who are not under treatment for high blood pressure. Methodology: In Hungary, a cross-sectional survey was carried out among those serving in the County of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. This is the publication of partial results of a study carried out in the framework of a comprehensive health behavior survey. Findings: The number of items in the sample is 1,719. 11.40% were treated for hypertension. There is a significant difference in gender (χ2= 3.979; p=0.047). The highest proportion of people with hypertension is among those with a secondary school leaving certificate (18.8%). The lowest prevalence is among university graduates (9.1%). Education level is significantly associated with hypertension (χ2=17.013; p=0.004). There is a very strong significant association between length of time in service and hypertension (χ2=83.204; p= 0.000). The proportion of people with hypertension increases steadily with the length of service. No significant differences were found for work schedule, smoking, alcohol consumption or physical activity. When examining the relationship between social support and hypertension, there is a significant difference between grandparent support and parent support (p=0.002; p=0.012). Those treated for hypertension can count on less parental or grandparental support. Non-hypertensives have higher personal health awareness (p=0001), as well as higher self-assessment of health (p=0.000). They are more motivated to avoid unhealthiness (p=0.002) and to maintain their health (p=0.009). They feel in better health (p=0.000) and are confident that this will be maintained in the future (p=0.000). Health concern is higher among hypertension patients (p=0.045). Both internal and external health control scores are higher (p=0.000; P=0.001) as is health anxiety (p=0.000). Value: The prevalence of hypertension increases with age, so it is of paramount importance that appropriate health promotion programmes help law-enforcement workers to maintain their health. Keyword: high blood pressure, law enforcement, health behavior, health promotion"

Occupational and Personal Challenges During the Opioid Crisis: Understanding First Responders' Experiences and Viewpoints of Clients with Opioid Use Disorder.

This study provides preliminary findings on the experiences of first responders during the opioid crisis and their viewpoints regarding whether clients with opioid use disorder deserve medical rehabilitation. Understanding associations between first responder experiences and viewpoints of client deservedness can help reduce stigma, improve compassionate care, and identify training gaps. Analyses were run with data from a nationwide survey of Emergency Medical Services-providers and law enforcement workers collected from August to November 2022 (N = 3836). The study used univariate statistics and ordered logistic regression to understand first responders' experiences and viewpoints on client deservedness, as well as the relationship between the two. Results show a negative correlation between responding to overdose calls and perceiving clients with opioid use disorder as deserving of medical rehabilitation. Law enforcement, males, and conservatives also had negative viewpoints. Conversely, having a friend experience addiction and believing addiction has had a direct impact on respondents' lives predicted increases in client deservedness. Policy should focus on creating spaces where first responders can have positive interactions with people who use drugs or are in recovery. Better training is needed to help first responders manage on-the-job stressors and understand the complexities of addiction.

Demographic factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine perceptions amongst healthcare and law enforcement workers

<b>Introduction:</b> The emergence of COVID-19 and the development of subsequent vaccines have both significantly impacted the lives and work of essential workers such as those who are healthcare, first responders, and law enforcement. Data has shown that these groups are all at a higher occupational risk for COVID-19 exposure, and therefore public health policy has prioritized the vaccination of this group, including mandating vaccines in this population. However, the perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines in this group are not clear and require examination.<br /> <b>Methods:</b> A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to examine the psychosocial factors associated with vaccine perceptions amongst healthcare and law enforcement professionals. An online survey was distributed to (n=216) between May 5, 2021, and August 25, 2021, and analyzed using a Chi-squared test for independence and Spearman correlation coefficient test.<br /> <b>Results:</b> It was found that race was significantly associated with four statements regarding COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and perceptions, gender identity was not associated with any statements, ethnicity was associated with two statements, and education level was associated with nine statements. Further analysis using a Spearman correlation coefficient found education to be associated with one statement regarding perceived safety (p=0.006) and another statement regarding perceived benefits (p=0.001).<br /> <b>Conclusion: </b>These findings are largely preliminary, but they provide insight into psychosocial factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine perception. It was found that all factors except for gender identity were associated with COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among healthcare and law enforcement professionals. Additional analysis found that higher education level was associated with higher perceived benefits and lower perceived barriers regarding COVID-19 vaccines.

Measuring Work-related Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Comparison of COVID-19 Incidence by Occupation and Industry-Wisconsin, September 2020 to May 2021.

BackgroundWork-related exposures play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission, yet few studies have measured the risk of COVID-19 across occupations and industries.MethodsDuring September 2020 – May 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services collected occupation and industry data as part of routine COVID-19 case investigations. Adults aged 18-64 years with confirmed or probable COVID-19 in Wisconsin were assigned standardized occupation and industry codes. Cumulative incidence rates were weighted for non-response and calculated using full-time equivalent (FTE) workforce denominators from the 2020 American Community Survey.ResultsAn estimated 11.6% of workers (347,013 of 2.98 million) in Wisconsin, ages 18-64 years, had COVID-19 from September 2020 to May 2021. The highest incidence by occupation (per 100 full-time equivalents) occurred among personal care and services workers (22.4), healthcare practitioners and support staff (20.7), and protective services workers (20.7). High risk sub-groups included nursing assistants and personal care aides (28.8), childcare workers (25.8), food and beverage service workers (25.3), personal appearance workers (24.4), and law enforcement workers (24.1). By industry, incidence was highest in healthcare (18.6); the highest risk sub-sectors were nursing care facilities (30.5) and warehousing (28.5).ConclusionsThis analysis represents one of the most complete examinations to date of COVID-19 incidence by occupation and industry. Our approach demonstrates the value of standardized occupational data collection by public health, and may be a model for improved occupational surveillance elsewhere. Workers at higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure may benefit from targeted workplace COVID-19 vaccination and mitigation efforts.

РАСПРОСТРАНЕННОСТЬ И ФАКТОРЫ РИСКА РАЗВИТИЯ ИШЕМИЧЕСКОГО ИНСУЛЬТА У РАБОТНИКОВ ПРАВООХРАНИТЕЛЬНЫХ ОРГАНОВ

Background. Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and the third leading cause of long-term disability in adults. In law enforcement officers, stress may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease, exacerbating a number of stroke risk factors. Aim. Study of prevalence and identification of leading risk factors for ischemic stroke in law enforcement workers. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of case records of patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, acute insufficiency of cerebral circulation and transient ischemic attack who received treatment in the Republican Hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan from 2016 to 2020 (n=1864) was performed. Of these, 225 case records of patients with a concomitant diagnosis of ischemic stroke [(12,07±2,2)%] were selected. We studied such pathological conditions as transient ischemic attack, hypertensive cerebral crisis and chronic forms of cerebrovascular disease as risk factors for stroke. Results and discussion. We found that there were 81 [(36,0±3,2)%] cases of cerebrovascular disease among the 225 examinees, including 64 [(28,44±2,9)%] established and 17 [(7,56±3,6)%] probable cases of cerebrovascular disease. Acute forms of cerebrovascular disease often occurred together with chronic forms. (6,98±3,2)% of patients aged 40–54 years (n=129) and (17,70±3,9)% of patients aged 55–65 years (n=96) had discirculatory encephalopathy. There was a total of 6 cases of transient ischemic attack [(2,67±1,4)%] in the patients examined, of which 2 cases [(0,89±1,2)%] were «definite» and 4 cases [(1,78±0,9)%] were «possible». The overall prevalence of transient ischemic attack in patients was (2,67±1,4)%. In 75,0% of the cases detected, transient ischemic attacks were registered predominantly once. Out of the total number of all detected cases of transient ischemic attack, 4 (66,67%) cases were registered for the first time upon history taking. Arterial hypertension was registered in 198 of 225 [(88,0±2,1)%] patients examined. Hypertensive crisis during ischemic stroke was detected in 14 of 225 patients (6,22% of all patients examined) and in (17,68±2,7)% of patients with arterial hypertension (34 patients). Additionally, there were 15 [(6,67±3,83)%] cases of hypertensive cerebral crisis: 5 (2,22%) established cases of hypertensive cerebral crisis and 10 [(4,44±2,80)%] «possible» cases. Conclusion. A comprehensive study of the clinical features, course, and complications of ischemic stroke will allow us to develop new approaches to solve the urgent research problem, which is the management strategy to be applied to patients in the acute period of ischemic stroke.

Taking Playful Scholarship Seriously: Discursive Game Design as a Means of Tackling Intractable Controversies

The article at hand explores the concept of playful scholarship, focusing specifically on the use of playfulness in re-assessing the collaboration between academia and societal partners to tackle “intractable policy controversies” (Schön and Rein 1994, p. 23)—i.e., challenges in which opposing parties operate with conflicting frames (often without even noticing). After arguing that earlier attempts at using games in academia often only evoke the rhetoric rather than the spirit of play (Sicart 2014) and thereby limit spaces for actually playful scholarship, we emphasize how the heuristic of playful game design (rather than game play) can help address this issue.To illustrate our point, we draw on a recent research project about drug policies in the Netherlands, in which concerns of (among others) law enforcement, policy-makers and healthcare workers are characteristically entangled. In this project, we first we defined the societal context of drug policies as an “ecology of games” (Long 1958; Lubell 2013) and proposed two ‘base games’—one created from scratch and the other inspired by the CIA-developed card game Collection Deck. These games were iteratively played by a diverse group of academic and non-academic stakeholders using self-modifying rules that allowed participants themselves to engage in “playful design” (Flanagan 2014), changing, adding or removing rules in order to identify where the game-as-model deviated from their lived experience (and how they might translate their experiences into the ‘language’ of the game). Drawing on ethnographic data collected over the course of six months, we investigate how the contingent ‘versions’ of the game as boundary objects (Leigh Star 2010) facilitated a playful attitude towards the otherwise characteristically entrenched discourse on Dutch drug policies.As a basic frame of reference, we use and adapt Lieberman’s original definition of playfulness, based on “physical, social, and cognitive spontaneity, manifest joy, and sense of humor” (2014, p. 23), and Shen’s differentiation between “situations for play” (2020, p. 540) and “playful states” (2020, p. 542) to interpret the processes in our community of practice. More specifically, we observe the impact of playful objects and object play (Riede et al. 2018) as well as bricolage (Antonijevic and Cahoy 2018) on playful attitudes within the group. This showed the constant tension between, on the one hand, expectations that the game itself should ‘produce’ new insights and, on the other, as Sicart recommends, “carnivalesque” (2014, p. 23) attempts at resisting ‘utilitarian’ play (e.g., exploring ideas that would be ruled out by conventional wisdom as optional in-game scenarios or events).Finally, we conclude with how adopting a playful game designer’s rather than a player’s perspective may challenge habitualized practices and corresponding roles inherent in public-private partnerships within academia. This makes different preconceptions amongst stakeholders visible, facilitates perspective change, and acknowledges the interconnected frames within intractable controversies by continually re-designing the base games.

ПОСТСОВЕТСКАЯ УРБАНОНИМИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ: ОСНОВНЫЕ МОТИВЫ НОМИНАЦИИ И ОНИМИЧЕСКИЕ ОЖИДАНИЯ ГОРОЖАН

The aim of this article is the analysis of RF postsoviet urbanonymy, comparison of the nomination motives with those expectations which exist in the society. The author reveals the idea on the example of the titles, names of 23 towns and cities of different regions of RF. The material is analysed in the article according to onomasiological viewpoint. It is compared with the data of sociological surveys in Yaroslavl and Krasnoyarsk. The main attention is given to the analysis of modern onymic situation and the peculiarities of nomination motives. Toponymic committees are an expert body whose decisions serve as recommendations for local executive and legislature branches. Nowadays the main stream of citizens and organizations appeals is connected with the perpetuation in urban toponymy the memory of the people. The author highlighted three motives in object nomination in postsoviet urbanonymy: memorial nomination (names-memoratives), descriptive nomination (names-characteristics), evsemantic nomination (names-positives). The major nomination motive of the objects is creating memoratives. The main peculiarity of this type of urbanonisms development in the postsoviet period is the translation of regional identity with new models. Among personal memoratives new models of names appeared: urbanonyms named after saints and priests, heroes of prerevolution Russian history, local enterprises’ directors, law enforcement workers perished at work, sportsmen, coaches. The author showed main complexities of descriptive names creating. He thinks that it is important to create evsemantic urbanonyms with great care. When creating them it is necessary to fix the names of natural phenomena and rare and endangered species of plants, birds, animals typical for this or that region where onyms are thought over. In the conclusion of the article the author assumes that in each city or town it is necessary to work out the concept of regional urbanonymy policy and to attract historians, culturologists, philologists and ethnographers. showed main complexities of descriptive names creating. He thinks that it is important to create evsemantic urbanonyms with great care. When creating them it is necessary to fix the names of natural phenomena and rare and endangered species of plants, birds, animals typical for this or that region where onyms are thought over. In the conclusion of the article the author assumes that in each city or town it is necessary to work out the concept of regional urbanonymy policy and to attract historians, culturologists, philologists and ethnographers.

Health, Wellbeing and Performance in Law Enforcement Workers

Health, Wellbeing and Performance in Law Enforcement Workers

ФОРМИ ПРАВОВОГО ВИХОВАННЯ УЧНІВСЬКОЇ МОЛОДІ (ІСТОРИЧНИЙ АСПЕКТ)

The forms of realization of legal education of senior pupils in the second half of the twentieth century are considered in the article. The essence of different forms of legal education is revealed and the methods of their application in the activity of secondary school are characterized. A special attention is paid to such forms of legal education as a cycle of lectures, a cycle of films, seminars, disputes, the evenings of questions and answers, topical evenings, etc. It is stated that the usage of a cycle of lectures as well as a cycle of films has become a necessary condition for successful realization of legal education increasing the level of motivation among pupils. They have been carried out according to a definite plan and organized due to the interests of senior pupils. Seminars and disputes have played an important role in spreading the legal knowledge. Such forms of legal education helped the pupils to exchange their knowledge in the field of law with each other. The evenings of questions and answers as well as topical evenings have contributed greatly to formation of legal culture of senior pupils. An excursion to different places was also an effective extracurricular form of legal education of senior pupils in the course of which they could apply their theoretical knowledge to practice. During such excursions the senior pupils studied the work of state bodies, enterprises, etc and learned how to satisfy physical and spiritual needs of the citizens. Furthermore, some special circles have been formed in many schools, and experienced lawyers carried out seminars and lectures, organized discussion of urgent issues, demonstrated some films pertaining to legal problems, etc. In their turn, the senior pupils worked on their reports, helped law enforcement workers with problematic pupils, organized some exhibitions and quiz. Therefore, all mentioned above has greatly contributed to the development of positive climate among pupils.

Gender-associated analysis of high-risk groups for mental health problems in law-enforcement officers

Background Mental disorders prevention in specific professional groups is impossible without scientifically substantiated allocation of groups with increased neuropsychiatric and psychosomatic disorders risk. This fact indicates the need to study the gender, age and professional characteristics in law enforcement workers who already have problems with psychological adaptation. Methods and materials The study involved 1630 law enforcement officers (1,301 men and 329 women) who were evaluated with the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). As the statistical methods were used the partial regression calculation coefficient η2, cohort calculation risk measures, φ*-total Fischer transformation method, and single-factor dispersion Fisher's analysis. Results According to gender characteristics, the problems with psychological adaptation in men were significantly less pronounced than in women (φ*=1.79; p=0.37). These data were confirmed by the cohort calculation and risk measures results: men – 0.261, women – 0.349 (the psychological disadaptation risk in women was 1.3 times higher than men). There weren’t any statistically significant age differences between the representatives of both gender groups with psychological adaptation disturbances and healthy ones (φ* ≤1.19; p≥0.1). Among patients who suffered from psychosomatic diseases, were men over the age of 35 (φ* ≥2.28; p≤0.0001) and women over 26 years old (φ*= 2.16; p=0.014) prevailed. There were significantly fewer people among men with psychosomatic illnesses with 4-9 years of professional working experience than in a healthy group. On the contrary, there were significantly more patients in a law enforcement workers group with 10-15 years working experience than in the healthy one (φ*>1.73; p<0.0001). Conclusion The risk of mental health problems in female police officers is much higher than in men. Disadaptation development is not related to the age and length of working experience in the police. Men with working experience greater than 10 years should be included in the risk group for psychosomatic diseases.

Double Expectations: Law Enforcement Workers and Dilemmas on Handling Drug Use at the Street Level

This paper analyses law enforcement workers’ experiences when transforming policies for crack cocaine and heroin into practice. It focuses on dilemmas workers have and choices they make when approaching drug users. Grounded theory principles and ethnographic techniques were used to gather and analyse in depth interviews and extensive participant observations of 20 workers across the cities of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Porto Alegre (Brazil). The comparative analysis enables to explore the impact of different socio-economic and political environments on workers’ practices around drug use. Three areas in which law enforcement workers reported to have dilemmas concern workers’ choices on how to deal with violence; choices between being tough or friendly towards users; and on defining their role on curbing public nuisance. If a first sight shows differences between the cities, in a closer look interesting similarities appear. When deciding upon approaching drug users, law enforcement workers drift between order and care approaches. At the street level, different contexts produce ambiguities and workers’ experiences question the etic reductionism in simple dichotomies of care vs. order approaches. From this closer perspective, similarities appear more clearly, as well as counterpoising perspectives to the stereotypical views of Dutch and Brazilian workers.

The Effects of Trivialization of Workplace Violence on Its Victims: Profession and Sex Differences in a Cross-Sectional Study among Healthcare and Law Enforcement Workers.

Workers from the law enforcement and healthcare sectors tend to normalize or mute their victimization from workplace violence (WPV). This study aims to assess the impact of the trivialization of WPV on psychological consequences for workers who have been affected by a WPV incident. The second aim is to assess the moderating effect of sex on the trivialization of WPV. The third and overarching aim is to assess the moderating effect of professional identity on the relations between individual and organizational factors and psychological consequences following a WPV incident. The findings are based on a convenience sample of 377 (204 female and 173 male) workers from the law enforcement and healthcare sectors. Individual factors (sex, age, professional identity, prior victimization, witnessing WPV, injuries, and trivialization of violence) and perceived support factors (colleagues' support and employer's support) were used as predictor variables of psychological consequences in hierarchical linear regression models. Sex was used as a moderator of trivialization while professional identity was used as a moderator of all predictors. When individual and social support factors were controlled for, normalizing violence was negatively associated with psychological consequences while perceiving a taboo associated with complaining about WPV was positively associated for all participants. When these relations were moderated by the sex of the participants and then by their professional identity, normalization was found to decrease psychological consequences only for male healthcare workers. To help employees cope with WPV, organizations should promote strategies adapted to profession and sex differences. For male healthcare workers, normalization as a cognitive coping strategy should be formally recognized. For both professions and sexes, organizational strategies that counter the perceived taboo of complaining about violence should be reinforced.

Beliefs About Safety and Religious and Cultural Diversity

ABSTRACTFollowing terrorist threats and events, some research has focused on the behavior, religious beliefs, and clothing of non-Western cultural groups and their intersection with Western cultures. Social workers, law enforcement, and other human service workers may be affected by their perceptions in their interactions with members of these groups. This exploratory study investigated beliefs about safety and religious and cultural diversity in light of age and gender (N = 324). Respondents completed 30 items following 1 of 4 vignettes in which a younger or older male or female character in non-Western attire was boarding an airplane. When controlling for respondents' travel frequency, knowing someone who has been or is in military service and knowing someone affected or personally being affected by national or international acts of terrorism, a general linear model was significant (F = 116.617, df = 30, p < .001). Differences centered on perceptions of safety, racial profiling, and attributing behaviors of people attired in non-Western clothing to the culture and religion of the vignette character. Female characters were perceived to be less dangerous than male characters. These perceptions may impact service delivery and professionals' willingness to interact with some religious/cultural groups. This area requires continued research.

POSTRZEGANIE OFIARY HANDLU KOBIETAMI W CELU PROSTYTUCJI PRZEZ FUNKCJONARIUSZY ORGANÓW ŚCIGANIA – WYNIKI BADAŃ ANKIETOWYCH

The subject of the following text was the image of victims of trafficking women for prostitution amongst police officers and border officers. For this purpose, surveyresearch was carried out on 114 officers from these units. Their results enabled anindication of how victims of trafficking women for prostitution are perceived amongst those surveyed. Law enforcement workers are a group that, because of the profession they do, maypotentially have the most frequent contact with human trafficking offenders. At thesame time, they are a part of society, so doubtlessly they are influenced by commonlyoccurring stereotypes and schemas. That is why it is essential to diagnose the methodsof perception of victims of human trafficking by law enforcement officers. The methodin which a victim of this crime is perceived may have a large significance, firstly for thesubjective treatment of aggrieved women, and secondly for prosecutors.The research results indicate that, in the opinion of the surveyed, victims arecharacterised above all as naive and submissive. Quite often, the respondents alsoindicated the aggrieved individuals had weak psyches, and were mindless and fearful.Excluding a few qualities characterising victims in a neutral manner, the vast majoritywere negatively coloured, putting the victim of human trafficking in a bad light. Theywere perceived as compliant, overly trusting, mentally weak and passive. On severaloccasions, answers appear in which victims were presented as greedy, devious womenwho had been lost to rapacity. In the question about the character qualities of victims,several people indicated their external appearance, which might signify a strongconnection between victims of the discussed crime and an attractive appearance. Mostlikely this is due to the fact that the researched form of human trafficking is linked withthe sexual sphere.The main source for acquiring knowledge on the subject of human traffickingwas acknowledged by the respondents as being the media as well as any training theyhad undergone. This may seem disturbing since the image of human trafficking inthe media, other than the fact it is heavily oversimplified, strongly relies on genderstereotypes which can affect perceptions and thus the way victims of human traffickingare processed. Other than this, a significant majority of police officers (84%) andborder guards (81%) had undergone training on the subject of human trafficking.Equally important is that a very small number of respondents had had in their lives anycontact with victims of human trafficking (17% of surveyed border officials and 35%of police officers). Despite this, almost everybody had deep-rooted definite beliefs todo with victims of female trafficking. Most of these convictions are therefore based onstereotypes.Amongst the respondents, there was a widespread conviction that victims of humantrafficking are predominantly women (around three quarters of all respondents). For thesurveyed, a victim of human trafficking is most often an aggrieved person forced intoprostitution – respondents said this form of crime was the most frequently occurring. A significant majority of the respondents acknowledged that the female-victim did notknow that they would be working as a prostitute. Most likely this is linked to the fact thatvictims of female trafficking are presented above all as young, inexperienced and naivegirls. This is at odds with the image of a calculating prostitute who knew the goal of herjourney. It is worth mentioning too about the distribution of answers to the questionin which surveyed police had to answer if it is more appropriate to quickly interrogatevictims or to grant them time to think. Almost 70% of those surveyed admitted theythought it more appropriate to quickly interrogate the victim. Particularly substantial were the justifications for the respondents’ choice of answers. Their analysis allows usto conclude that the respondents perceive victims of human trafficking instrumentally– above all, they see them as a tool for the effective prosecution of those committing human trafficking. This is shown by the fact they judged it important to interrogate thevictim as quickly as possible so that they could gather evidence. Some of the officersalso expressed their negative attitude to victims by accusing them of the possibility ofscheming, the susceptibility for lying or a desire for revenge on the perpetrators. Examining the research evidence suggests this is reflected in relation to the practicalconsequences of the perceptions of victims of human trafficking by law enforcementofficials as passive, naive and helpless women. Namely, these kinds of thoughts maylead to one of these victims, whose qualities fit with the commonly-held stereotypes,being identified by a law enforcement representative. Similarly, help may only be givento those people who the officers believe “really” need and deserve it (i.e. they fit theimage of a defenceless helpless “ideal” victim). Reaching law enforcement agencies andbeyond – such as the justice system – may only be achievable by those victims that fitthe stereotypes, while other people may be ignored – for example, those who had beenused for something other than sex, or older people, the active or those not physicallyattractive.

Does Working with Child Abuse Cases Affect Professionals’ Parenting and the Psychological Well-Being of Their Children?

Work in the field of sexual abuse is extremely stressful and may arouse negative personal reactions. Although these secondary trauma effects are well described on a personal level, there is not enough evidence to understand whether these professionals carry these effects to their homes, families, and offspring. This study aims to identify the effects of working with child abuse cases on the anxiety level and parenting styles of childhood trauma workers and on their children’s well-being. A total of 43 health and legal system workers who worked with abused children in any step of their process and who had children constituted the study group, and 50 control cases, each working in the same institution and having the same occupation as 1 of the participants from the study group and having children but not working directly with children and child abuse cases, were included in the study. Participants were asked to fill out a sociodemographic form, the Parental Attitude Research Instrument, the trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and an age-appropriate form of the Child Behavior Checklist for each child they had. Professionals in the study working with child abuse cases demonstrated significantly higher democratic parenting attitudes. Law enforcement workers working with child abuse cases demonstrated stricter and more authoritarian parenting strategies, as well as more democratic attitudes, than their colleagues. There was not a statistically significant relationship between child abuse workers’ anxiety level and their children’s well-being among control subjects.

Preparedness to respond to elder abuse: a comparison of law enforcement and adult protective service workers

As the elderly population grows, cases of elder abuse are expected to increase. Two service agencies that will be responsible for handling elder abuse cases are adult protective services (APS) and law enforcement. This study surveyed members of both groups on their perception of knowledge needed and possessed by their colleagues related to processing elder abuse cases. Law enforcement officers reported a significant lack of knowledge on elements related to legal reporting requirements, collecting evidence, and obtaining services for elderly victims, and APS workers reported a significant lack of knowledge on several elements. In addition, APS workers reported significantly more knowledge than law enforcement officers on all elements. This suggests that increased, yet tailored training is needed for both groups and that APS can assist law enforcement agents in improving their ability to handle elder abuse cases.

Relationship between particulate matter exposure and atherogenic profile in “Ground Zero” workers as shown by dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging

In this pilot study, we hypothesize that dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has the potential to evaluate differences in atherosclerosis profiles in patients subjected to high (initial dust cloud) and low (after 13 September 2001) particulate matter (PM) exposure. Exposure to PM may be associated with adverse health effects leading to increased morbidity. Law enforcement workers were exposed to high levels of particulate pollution after working at "Ground Zero" and may exhibit accelerated atherosclerosis. 31 subjects (28 male) with high (n = 19) or low (n = 12) exposure to PM underwent DCE-MRI. Demographics (age, gender, family history, hypertension, diabetes, BMI, and smoking status), biomarkers (lipid profiles, hs-CRP, BP) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) measures (left and right) were obtained from all subjects. Differences between the high and low exposures were compared using independent samples t test. Using linear forward stepwise regression with information criteria model, independent predictors of increased area under curve (AUC) from DCE-MRI were determined using all variables as input. Confidence interval of 95 % was used and variables with p > 0.1 were eliminated. p < 0.05 was considered significant. Subjects with high exposure (HE) had significantly higher DCE-MRI AUC uptake (increased neovascularization) compared to subjects with lower exposure (LE). (AUC: 2.65 ± 0.63 HE vs. 1.88 ± 0.69 LE, p = 0.016). Except for right leg ABI, none of the other parameters were significantly different between the two groups. Regression model indicated that only HE to PM, CRP > 3.0 and total cholesterol were independently associated with increased neovascularization (in decreasing order of importance, all p < 0.026). HE to PM may increase plaque neovascularization, and thereby potentially indicate worsening atherogenic profile of "Ground Zero" workers.

F4‐02‐01: Prescribing drugs for psychosis and agitation may cause more harm than good: A systematic review of effectiveness, expert opinion and societal concern

The vast majority of people with Alzheimer disease and other dementia show agitation, delusions, aggression, and other disruptive behaviors during their illness; and suffer and cause great distress because of them. Most patients with disruptive behaviors are prescribed psychotropics, presumably as attempts to ameliorate their problems. Researchers and governments have cautioned that the drugs may be both ineffective and dangerous. Review efficacy/effectiveness evidence for antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants. Review expert and committee recommendations, (e.g., the APA, ACNP, AAN, Alzheimer's Association, California Alzheimer Association, industry, regulatory organizations, and continuing medical education). The target symptoms and circumstances under which the drugs are used are vaguely described. Individual clinical trials generally do not show meaningful efficacy. Pooling trials reveals statistically significant modest effects for two antipsychotics and considerable adversity for the range of psychotropics. There is lack of evidence for long-term use even though the drugs are often used in this manner. Well-known adverse effects for antipsychotics include mortality, cardiovascular events, and sedation. Other drugs show substantial toxicity as well. Observed reduction in symptoms may be due to the soporific suppression of expressive behaviors. Expert panels tend to cautiously recommend the drugs, particularly antipsychotics, less so SSRIs; and antidepressants are prescribed more frequently than antipsychotics. Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine are also ineffective for disruptive behaviors but have a better safety profile. There is a lack of data supporting other classes of medications. The causes of these pleomorphic behaviors are not known even as their antecedents are and interventions can be made. Misinterpretation of trials outcomes may lead to poor medical practice. Short term use of antipsychotics and possibly other classes may help; longer use not. Despite the many trials and consensus panels there is overall limited information to inform physicians and patients beyond their potential for harm. Drug companies have pled guilty to fraud with respect to the drugs; and some law enforcement workers interpret their use in the elderly as assault with a deadly weapon subject to prosecution. As we try to develop treatments for AD we need to attend to societal concerns.