The mental wellbeing of prison staff in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study
The mental wellbeing of prison staff in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study
Background: COVID-19 is likely to have had an impact on the mental wellbeing of prison staff because of the high risk for infectious disease outbreaks in prisons and the pre-existing high burden of mental health issues among staff. Methods: A cross-sectional study of staff within 26 prisons in England was carried out between 20th July 2020 and 2nd October 2020. Mental wellbeing was measured using the Short-version of Warwick-Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). Staff wellbeing was compared to that of the English population using indirectly standardised data from the Health Survey for England 2010–13 and a one-sample t-test. Multivariate linear regression modelling explored associations with mental wellbeing score. Results: Two thousand five hundred and thirty-four individuals were included (response rate 22.2%). The mean age was 44 years, 53% were female, and 93% were white. The sample mean SWEMWBS score was 23.84 and the standardised population mean score was 23.57. The difference in means was statistically significant (95% CI 0.09–0.46), but not of a clinically meaningful level. The multivariate linear regression model was adjusted for age category, sex, ethnicity, smoking status, occupation, and prison service region. Higher wellbeing was significantly associated with older age, male sex, Black/Black British ethnicity, never having smoked, working within the health staff team, and working in certain prison regions. Interpretation: Unexpectedly, prison staff wellbeing as measured by SWEMWBS was similar to that of the general population. Reasons for this are unclear but could include the reduction in violence within prisons since the start of the pandemic. Qualitative research across a diverse sample of prison settings would enrich understanding of staff wellbeing within the pandemic.
COVID-19, health inequalities, mental health, occupational health, prison, wellbeing
Johnson, Luke
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Czachorowski, Maciej
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Gutridge, Kerry
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McGrath, Nuala
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Parkes, Julie
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Plugge, Emma
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3 March 2023
Johnson, Luke
fa1eb551-f214-43a9-b825-00dbdd839872
Czachorowski, Maciej
f1fcb0c8-a8b1-4a5d-8657-a19bf5c807ad
Gutridge, Kerry
efbf7b15-c24d-4da0-9d52-1dd093e2e8d8
McGrath, Nuala
b75c0232-24ec-443f-93a9-69e9e12dc961
Parkes, Julie
59dc6de3-4018-415e-bb99-13552f97e984
Plugge, Emma
b64d2086-6cf2-4fae-98bf-6aafa3115b35
Johnson, Luke, Czachorowski, Maciej, Gutridge, Kerry, McGrath, Nuala, Parkes, Julie and Plugge, Emma
(2023)
The mental wellbeing of prison staff in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.
Frontiers in Public Health, 11.
(doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1049497).
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 is likely to have had an impact on the mental wellbeing of prison staff because of the high risk for infectious disease outbreaks in prisons and the pre-existing high burden of mental health issues among staff. Methods: A cross-sectional study of staff within 26 prisons in England was carried out between 20th July 2020 and 2nd October 2020. Mental wellbeing was measured using the Short-version of Warwick-Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). Staff wellbeing was compared to that of the English population using indirectly standardised data from the Health Survey for England 2010–13 and a one-sample t-test. Multivariate linear regression modelling explored associations with mental wellbeing score. Results: Two thousand five hundred and thirty-four individuals were included (response rate 22.2%). The mean age was 44 years, 53% were female, and 93% were white. The sample mean SWEMWBS score was 23.84 and the standardised population mean score was 23.57. The difference in means was statistically significant (95% CI 0.09–0.46), but not of a clinically meaningful level. The multivariate linear regression model was adjusted for age category, sex, ethnicity, smoking status, occupation, and prison service region. Higher wellbeing was significantly associated with older age, male sex, Black/Black British ethnicity, never having smoked, working within the health staff team, and working in certain prison regions. Interpretation: Unexpectedly, prison staff wellbeing as measured by SWEMWBS was similar to that of the general population. Reasons for this are unclear but could include the reduction in violence within prisons since the start of the pandemic. Qualitative research across a diverse sample of prison settings would enrich understanding of staff wellbeing within the pandemic.
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fpubh-11-1049497
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 14 February 2023
Published date: 3 March 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The main funder for this study is the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), UK Government (no award/grant number). The Ministry of Justice, the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England, and the University of Southampton provided in-kind support for the study. DHSC had no role in the development of the design of the study nor in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript. Colleagues from DHSC were instrumental in operationalising the testing that was a key part of the study design. NM is a recipient of an NIHR Research Professorship award (Ref: RP-2017-08-ST2-008).
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Johnson, Czachorowski, Gutridge, McGrath, Parkes and Plugge.
Keywords:
COVID-19, health inequalities, mental health, occupational health, prison, wellbeing
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 476534
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/476534
ISSN: 2296-2565
PURE UUID: dc31db47-9808-40cd-a987-35ace735f735
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Date deposited: 05 May 2023 16:33
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:57
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Contributors
Author:
Luke Johnson
Author:
Maciej Czachorowski
Author:
Kerry Gutridge
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