Did you miss our webinar?

Health, Stress, and Wellness in Policing:
Current Issues and Emergent Solutions

Wednesday, October 10th  |   2:00 - 3:00 pm ET

Presenters:
Brian Aagaard, RTI
Dr. Robert Furberg, RTI
Dr. Jennifer Rineer, RTI

  
Webinar Overview:

RTI International’s Policing Research Program invites you to participate in a free webinar titled Health, Stress, and Wellness in Policing: Current Issues and Emergent Solutions on October 10^th from 2:00-3:00 pm.

Researchers and practitioners have made genuine attempts to reduce stress and improve health among police officers. Yet, most research on intervention studies to improve officer wellness show limited success.

In this webinar, presenters will share how RTI International experts in policing research, emerging technologies and health informatics, and occupational health and safety are addressing this major public health issue. Specifically, presenters will discuss 1) the major mental and physical health risks faced by law enforcement personnel today; 2) best practices in the measurement and assessment of health and wellness indicators and outcomes, including the use of biometric and biomarker data; and 3) promising evidence-based strategies for improving officer health and wellness.

The presentation will include current insights from the field on officer health and wellness, results from a pilot study on the use of emerging technologies to capture biometric and biomarker data from officers in real time, and an overview of RTI’s current project, Developing and Validating Self-Guided Wellness and Stress Management Tools for Law Enforcement Agencies, funded by the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn about the effects of work-related stress and health risks on individual officers, law enforcement agencies, and communities, as well as best practices for measuring key indicators and outcomes, and the impact of interventions designed to improve them.

Results and insights from the initial phases of RTI’s ongoing COPS project will provide concrete examples of how to address some of the major pitfalls and limitations of previous efforts and initiatives to improve officer wellbeing. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their own knowledge and insights through an interactive discussion at the end of the webinar. 

 

Meet the Webinar Presenters

Brian Aagaard

Brian Aagaard, a member of RTI’s Policing Research Program, has extensive experience as a crime and intelligence analyst. Mr. Aagaard has worked with law enforcement at the local, county, state, and federal levels for more than a decade. His areas of expertise include the collection, management, and analysis of law enforcement data.

Mr. Aagaard’s current work focuses on the intersection of policing, technology, and analysis. He is particularly interested in the dynamics of law enforcement-community interactions, specifically during routine encounters such as traffic stops.

Prior to joining RTI, Mr. Aagaard worked as an analyst at the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center in New York State, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Intelligence Unit, and the City of Durham (North Carolina) Police Department. He is a member of the International Association of Crime Analysts and became an IACA certified law enforcement analyst in 2013.

Robert Furberg

Robert Furberg is a senior clinical informaticist in RTI International’s Digital Health and Clinical Informatics program, where he conducts future-oriented research on technology-enabled behavior change interventions. His current work explores how sensor-based biometric data can be used to better support individualized prevention and disease management strategies. 

Dr. Furberg has conducted numerous studies for the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Science Foundation on the use of mobile technologies to improve health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment adherence across a variety of patient populations.

Prior to joining RTI, Dr. Furberg spent over a decade working across a variety of emergency services, most recently as a special operations firefighter-paramedic for the Washington, DC, Fire Department and as a flight paramedic for the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. He has been cross-trained as a hazardous materials technician, interior structural firefighter, and tactical / operational medical support. 

Jennifer Rineer

Jennifer Rineer is a research psychologist in RTI’s Workplace Health and Safety research practice area. With a background in workplace psychology and occupational health, Dr. Rineer’s work focuses on aspects of the work environment that affect individuals’ stress, health, and performance. She designs, implements and evaluates initiatives designed to improve the wellbeing and effectiveness of individuals and organizations.

Dr. Rineer has conducted implementation and evaluation studies of health-related initiatives for clients such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Dr. Rineer publishes in peer-reviewed outlets in psychology, management, and public health, and is also versed in translating complex research findings into practical, relevant tools for clients and practitioners.

Before joining RTI, Dr. Rineer was the Career Pathways Research Fellow at Catalyst, Inc., conducting research that exposes root causes of gender gaps in education and employment. She was also the Director of Research at the Center for Parental Leave Leadership and conducted research on workplace safety climate for the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety.
 

View the recording and download the presentation here.