Potential Occupational Stressors for Prison Officers in Taita Taveta County, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: Stress has been rated second in frequency of health problems regarding the occupational environment. Prison officers are exposed to unique and powerful stressors and are proven to be at higher risk of work-related stress. Outcomes of stress at the workplace can contribute to various mental and physiological health problems and a demotivated workforce, hence resulting in poor work performance. Objective: This research study sought to determine the factors contributing to occupational stress among prison officers based in Taita Taveta County, Kenya. Study Design: A cross-sectional descriptive design. Methods: Using a modification to Cochran's formula, a sample of 269 prison officers, which included a 10% attrition to cater for non-responses, in Taita Taveta County, was chosen through stratified sampling for participation in the research study. Quantitative data was gathered using a structured questionnaire adapted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Carver Coping Survey. To ascertain the validity and reliability of the tool in the study, it was pre-tested in the neighboring Makueni County with a study sample of 26 prison officers. Descriptive statistics were used to report the frequency and percentage distributions and the mean and range for the study variables. Using SPSS Version 24 software, categorical variables were statistically analyzed using the Chi-square statistic. The key informant (K.I.) target population for the study was purposively sampled from the administration department, specifically, a representative from the office of the Officer In-charge and the head medic/ Counselor/Welfare officer at each facility. An open-ended key informant question guide was used to collect data analyzed through content analysis via ATLASti and presented in prose supported by verbatim.

Significance of Findings: The findings will be of value to the policymakers, researchers, scholars, the prisons in Taita Taveta, Prison officers, and future researchers. Findings: The study established that marital status (β = 1.167, chi square = 4.892, p < 0.05), age (β = -0.082, chi square = 4.417, p < 0.05) and length of service (β = 0.067, chi square = 3.378, p < 0.05) had a significant positive effect on occupational stress. Other social demographic factors such as gender, number of children, number of dependents, rank and educational level had no significant effect on occupational stress. Moreover, the study findings revealed that staff management practices (β = -0.449, chi square = 8.423, p < 0.05), working conditions (β = -0.416, chi square = 8.260, p < 0.05) and person job-fit (β = -0.409, chi square = 9.160, p < 0.05) had significant negative effect on occupational stress. Recommendations: Prison authorities should devise innovative ways to involve junior officers in decision-making. Management should also provide more support to the prison officers regarding promotions, training, and caring for work-related and personal challenges. The study recommends to prison authorities in Taita Taveta County to address family issues for married prison officers, such as granting leave to visit family and deploying married prison officers to facilities near their homes. Moreover, counseling and support services should be accessible to prison officers who had served for long in the facilities. Besides, there should be continuous and remedial training for the counseling and welfare team to address work-related stress adequately and negative outcomes. Moreover, mandatory mental and physical health checks should be made for all officers upon return to work from annual leave. Lastly, there should be continuous training, mentoring, and coaching to ensure that prison officers always have the capacity, mentality, and adaptability to deal with their jobs effectively