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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12622001416785
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
1/11/2022
Date registered
7/11/2022
Date last updated
24/04/2024
Date data sharing statement initially provided
7/11/2022
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Investigating the effect of manager training on help-seeking in police officers
Scientific title
A randomised controlled trial of the effects of manager training on promoting help-seeking in police officers
Secondary ID [1] 308324 0
Nil
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Psychological distress 328107 0
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 328108 0
Condition category
Condition code
Mental Health 325161 325161 0 0
Anxiety
Mental Health 325162 325162 0 0
Other mental health disorders

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
There are two arms to this trial. Arm 1: Manager Training Program. Arm 2: Control Assessment. In the Manager Training Program that was developed specifically for this project, sergeants will receive from a clinical psychologist 1 x 2.5 hour training in how to detect mental health problems in police officers, how to conduct a conversation with the officer, and how to offer confidential referral advice to seek professional mental health care. These sessions will be conducted face-to-face in groups of 10-20 sergeants, and will involve instruction from the clinical psychologist aided by powerpoint displays, and small group discussion. Sergeants will be emailed a brief summary of these points and referral options. The duration of the study for any participant will conclude after a 6-month follow-up assessment, resulting in participation duration of 26 weeks. Adherence will be assessed by monitoring participants' attendance at the training session via a checklist maintained by the clinical psychologist.
Intervention code [1] 324773 0
Behaviour
Comparator / control treatment
The Control Assessment arm comprises the same outcome assessments as those administered in the Training Manager Program. Participants will receive an email to complete the assessment, and again at 6 months. The duration of the study for any participant will conclude after a 6-month follow-up assessment, resulting in participation duration of 26 weeks.
Control group
Active

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 332987 0
Any change in help-seeking as measured by a count by sergeants of how many times they refer an officer for mental health assistance
Timepoint [1] 332987 0
Postintervention (week 5), and primary follow-up (week 26, primary timepoint).
Secondary outcome [1] 415437 0
Knowledge of skills to manage mental health in officers as measured by a 10-item survey specifically developed for this study.
Timepoint [1] 415437 0
Primary follow-up (week 26 postintervention start)

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Sergeants in the NSW Police Force working in commands identified by NSW Police to participate in the trial.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
No limit
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
None

Study design
Purpose of the study
Prevention
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Commands will be randomised to receive the training or control arms according to a random numbers system administered by an individual who independent of the study..
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Simple randomisation using a randomisation table created by computer software (i.e. computerised sequence generation)
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?


The people assessing the outcomes
The people analysing the results/data
Intervention assignment
Parallel
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis
Analyses will involve multiple comparisons of sergeants' responses to the surveys at Week 26.

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
17/11/2022
Actual
17/11/2022
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/03/2023
Actual
30/09/2023
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
1/09/2023
Actual
30/03/2024
Sample size
Target
220
Accrual to date
Final
206
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
NSW

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 312567 0
Charities/Societies/Foundations
Name [1] 312567 0
icare NSW
Country [1] 312567 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
UNSW Sydney
Address
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 314175 0
None
Name [1] 314175 0
Address [1] 314175 0
Country [1] 314175 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 311895 0
UNSW Human Research Ethics Advisory Panel C
Ethics committee address [1] 311895 0
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Ethics committee country [1] 311895 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 311895 0
28/09/2022
Approval date [1] 311895 0
07/10/2022
Ethics approval number [1] 311895 0
HC3672

Summary
Brief summary
There is considerable evidence that harsh managerial styles influence workplace efficiency and worker wellbeing. In contrast, supportive managerial styles that are characterized by empathy and non-judgmental attitudes to workers are associated with more positive workplaces and productivity. This issue is particularly influential in organisations that are characterized by demanding work duties, where mental health issues are more prevalent and contribute to absenteeism. The goal of this research is to evaluate the extent to which training managers in NSW Police can result in more supportive behavior of managers, and promote better help seeking in officers with mental health problems.

This project is being conducted in collaboration with NSW Police. Sergeants in 6 regional commands in NSW will be trained in how to (a) provide supportive managerial assistance to officers under their command, (b) identify officers who may experience mental health issues or be dissatisfied with their work environment, (c) engage in supportive discussions in a way that promotes a better sense of employee control and work satisfaction, and (d) offer them confidential referrals for assistance they may need with personal issues. These trainings will be conducted in face-to-face group sessions in the 6 commands (each one comprising 10-20 sergeants) in 1 x 2.5-hour session. The outcomes of the project will be compared with 6 matched commands in NSW (identified by NSW Police). The primary outcomes of the project will be sergeants' reports of frequency of referring an officer for mental health assistance. Secondary outcomes will be knowledge of appropriate strategies to provide to officers; this data will be obtained from sergeants when they complete a brief questionnaire that is emailed to them by NSW Police. The primary outcome timepoint will be 26 weeks after the program.
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 122754 0
Prof Richard Bryant
Address 122754 0
School of Psychology
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Country 122754 0
Australia
Phone 122754 0
+61405375874
Fax 122754 0
Email 122754 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 122755 0
Richard Bryant
Address 122755 0
School of Psychology
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Country 122755 0
Australia
Phone 122755 0
+61405375874
Fax 122755 0
Email 122755 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 122756 0
Richard Bryant
Address 122756 0
School of Psychology
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Country 122756 0
Australia
Phone 122756 0
+61405375874
Fax 122756 0
Email 122756 0
[email protected]

Data sharing statement
Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?
No
No/undecided IPD sharing reason/comment
Privacy issues pertaining to NSW Police personnel.


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided



Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.