TeamPolice is delighted to announce that the independent evaluation of 1TeamActive, our sport and activity programme for the policing family, has been published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, one of the world’s leading journals in applied health psychology.
The paper, authored by Helen Oliver and Professor Owen Thomas of Cardiff Metropolitan University, is the result of a multi-year collaboration between TeamPolice, Cardiff Met and Sport England. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being is ranked in the top quartile of journals worldwide in its field, and publication there is a significant mark of the quality and rigour of the research.
Just as importantly, the paper has been published open access. That means anyone in the policing community, from force wellbeing leads to individual officers, staff and their families, can read the full findings free of charge, with no journal paywall in the way.
Created by TeamPolice and run in partnership with Sport England, with £348k of funding from the National Lottery, 1TeamActive was the first initiative of its kind to support not just police officers and staff but their families too. Four forces piloted the programme, with participants attending activity event days before taking part in weeks of instructor-led sport and physical activity.
The evaluation tells an important story. Police work is demanding, and national surveys consistently show that police personnel report lower mental wellbeing than the general population. The research found that taking part in 1TeamActive increased how often participants were active together as a family, and the overwhelming majority of adults agreed that physical activity increased the quality time their families spent together.
Bill Skelly QPM, Chair of TeamPolice, said: “We are delighted to see the report into the 1TeamActive programme, delivered by TeamPolice with the support of Sport England, published in such a prestigious journal. It is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved, and to the value of investing in the wellbeing of our policing family.”
1TeamActive delivers the physical activity element of the Police Covenant and is supported by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, ensuring wellbeing sits at the heart of the programme. It remains an off the shelf product ready to be delivered by TeamPolice for forces.
The full paper is available to read now: https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aphw.70197
For more information about 1TeamActive, or to get your force involved, contact enquiries@teampolice.uk
