At a Glance
Challenges
- Provide anonymous access to wellness resources
- Meet crisis needs and promote proactive healthy habits
- Drive agency acceptance and user engagement with wellness resources
Results
- WASPC’s highest increase in app engagement recorded to date
- Sustained physical, mental, and emotional wellness engagement
- Stakeholder satisfaction in return on investment
The Challenge
In 2023, recognizing the increasing importance of addressing law enforcement officer wellness, the Washington state legislature, with Representative Mari Leavitt leading the effort, allocated funds to WASPC to implement an online or mobile-based application for any Washington law enforcement officer; 911 operator or dispatcher; and any other current or retired employee of a Washington law enforcement agency, and their families, to anonymously access on-demand wellness techniques, suicide prevention, resilience, physical fitness, nutrition, and other behavioral health and wellness supports.
“We needed a solution where employees, retirees and their families could anonymously access on-demand wellness techniques, suicide prevention, resilience, physical fitness, nutrition, and other behavioral health and wellness supports,” said Terrina Peterson, program manager for WASPC.
“The app met all our needs. Lexipol has the resources and connections to bring in the most up-to-date resources and tools.”
The Solution
The WASPC Wellness and Resilience Committee began by developing the criteria needed to best support a solution meeting the legislative parameters. They quickly settled on the idea of a mobile app. “We needed an app that could provide on-demand access to crisis hotlines and mental health resources,” Peterson said. “We also needed the app to provide proactive wellness guidance that would help our target population build healthy habits, all of which help increase resilience, quality of life, and longevity.”
As part of a competitive selection process, the committee met with Lexipol Wellness team members to learn more about Lexipol’s wellness app. The app features resources developed by clinicians and physical health and wellness subject matter experts experienced in working with first responders, so it addresses issues common to law enforcement, such as accessing occupation-specific physical fitness training and facing higher risks of physical injury than civilian populations, as well as compassion fatigue, struggles with sleep and good nutrition, exposure to trauma, suicidal ideation, and the impact of shift work. Content is presented in multiple formats, including assessments and screening tools, videos, and articles, as well as one-touch access to crisis hotlines. Departments that work with chaplains, peer support teams, or clinicians can include them in the app to facilitate connection to these invaluable resources.
“The app met all our needs,” Peterson said. “Initially, we had concerns with the ability to keep information fresh. Lexipol has the resources and connections to bring in new faces, along with the most up-to-date resources and tools. Now, three years in, we see fresh content added continuously and constant updates made to how users access the information.”
The Wellness Challenge: Key to Gaining Engagement and Results
Once WASPC had determined the Lexipol wellness app would meet their needs, they faced another big task: getting agencies across the state engaged with the app.
“We tried our best to engage every agency and give them opportunities to add agency-specific resources and branding ahead of the statewide rollout,” Peterson said. “In preparation for the rollout, we hosted a series of webinars for agency leaders and wellness champions. We continue to send reminders about the availability of the app and new features.”
The key to engagement success came through a statewide Wellness Challenge using the app’s built-in challenge functionality. WASPC worked with Lexipol’s industry experts to craft a challenge designed to address 33 critical health risk factors faced by first responders. “The clear framework of the Wellness Challenge made it easy for our agencies to align with national wellness program development and management protocols published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and U.S. Department of Justice,” Peterson said.
Combined with wellness challenge coordinator training, implementation of best practices, and enablement materials, the Wellness Challenge paved the way for agencies to set S.M.A.R.T. goals and help their staff achieve meaningful, measurable success in five high-priority areas: physical fitness, nutrition, mental health, family wellness, and peer support.
And it worked. A wide range of agencies – from departments with 14 personnel to those with over 2,000 – participated. “We’re proud to share that the WASPC Wellness Challenge increased app adoption and engagement and yielded measurable wellness impacts. We also received positive feedback from participating agencies, reporting that they enjoyed the healthy competition and engagement,” Peterson said.
The Results
With the Lexipol wellness app in use throughout Washington law enforcement agencies, WASPC noted measurable results. Participants in the Wellness Challenge:
- Practiced 5,740 new mentally healthy coping strategies;
- Logged hundreds of thousands of minutes of physical activity, with many meeting the best practice of 150 minutes of exercise per week;
- Completed 1,000+ Nutrition Success Action Plans;
- Shed over 300 pounds;
- Connected with peer support 3,748 times; and
- Interacted with family wellness resources 7,032 times.
While the momentum started with the Wellness Challenge, the impact continued far beyond it. “It is clear the Wellness Challenge didn’t just make a positive impact for a few weeks, it helped employees learn and refresh existing skills they needed to adopt a healthy lifestyle that they can continue practicing,” Peterson said. WASPC is actively planning the next Wellness Challenge.
Other key features of Lexipol Wellness are helping WASPC build on this success. “We use the Wellness Console to track usage of each agency’s wellness app,” Peterson said. “We are actively participating in Lexipol’s new Wellness Console Training Sessions and focus groups with the Customer Success team and app developers, and we are offering Lexipol’s Peer Support and Clinician Training to help train and certify peer support team members and clinicians dedicated to serving law enforcement across the state.”
“We’re proud to share that the WASPC Wellness Challenge increased app adoption and engagement and yielded measurable wellness impacts."
A True Partnership
Launching a statewide wellness effort of this magnitude is no easy task. Both WASPC and Lexipol leaders stress the key to success has been a true partnership. Together, Lexipol and WASPC created customized training for WASPC agencies, developed success tips and resources for agency wellness coordinators, and compiled an Executive Results Report demonstrating the measurable and meaningful success achieved – which, Peterson said, “was very well-received by our key stakeholders and decision-makers.” The partnership is built on a mutual dedication to first responder wellness – and respect for what both parties bring to the effort.
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