Physical Practice and Wellness Courses Reduce Distress and Improve Wellbeing in Police Officers.

BACKGROUND The aim of this work was to evaluate a course to reduce distress in an Italian police force. Based on the findings from the first investigations on this population, courses to improve the ability to manage distress were tailored by management. Several free courses were proposed, including physical efficiency (e.g., total body conditioning) and wellness (e.g., autogenic training) classes. The goal of this research was to evaluate the courses and their impact on the perceived distress and general health of the participants, as well as the effectiveness in increasing the use of adaptive coping strategies. METHODS A descriptive investigation was conducted involving a sample of 105 police officers before (time 1) and after (time 2) they had participated in the courses. RESULTS Findings confirmed both physical and wellness courses affected, in participants, the perceived distress, thereby increasing the perception of wellbeing. The participants expressed having mental health benefits, the use of adaptive coping strategies increased, while the maladaptive coping strategies decreased. CONCLUSION This study confirms that these courses could effectively reduce the risk of chronic disease, a consequence of persistent exposure to distress.