Assessment of the Quality of Life Among Prison Employees in Kosovo: A WHOQOL-BREF Analysis

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Milazim Gjocaj, Selvete Shuleta-Qehaja, Nita Kelmendi, Blerim Krasniqi, Shqipe Ukelli, Astrit Rexhaj, Nora Salihaj, Shukrane Novobërdaliu, Arian Idrizaj, Labinot Shahini, Klodeta Kabashi, Shera Kosumi, Krenar Dobroshi

 
For citation: Gjocaj M, Shuleta-Qehaja S, Kelmendi N, Krasniqi B, Ukelli S, Rexhaj A, Salihaj N, Novobërdaliu S, Idrizaj A, Shahini L, Kabashi K, Kosumi S, Dobroshi K. Assessment of the Quality of Life Among Prison Employees in Kosovo: A WHOQOL-BREF Analysis. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2024;14(4):679-685. doi:10.21103/Article14(4)_OA23
 
Originally published December 5, 2024
 

Abstract: 

This study used the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of prison staff in Kosovo. A cross-sectional survey of 622 staff members from different Kosovo prison facilities was carried out between June and August 2023. To measure quality of life, 26 items from four domains (physical health, psychological health, social interactions, and environment) were included in the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. According to the study, the general health score was 57.8, the environment and social connection domains had the lowest scores, and the overall QoL mean score was 68.1. In the environment domain, there were notable gender disparities, with females scoring better. Significant psychological and social relationship differences were associated with marital status, favoring married persons. Increased results in every domain were positively correlated with increased educational attainment. Age-related differences were seen, with the age group of 31 to 40 exhibiting the highest level of psychological well-being. Correctional staff performed the best in physical and psychological domains, while healthcare workers performed the worst. The results emphasize that customized interventions are required to promote social support, educational possibilities, and work environment circumstances to improve the general well-being of prison staff. By addressing these variables with focused techniques, QoL can be significantly improved, benefiting the prison system and the workforce.

Keywords: 
quality of life • WHOQOL-BREF • prison employees • Kosovo
References: 
  1. WHO. WHOQOL-BREF: Introduction, administration, scoring and generic version of the assessment: Field trial version December 1996. Geneva: World Health Organization. Online available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHOQOL-BREF.
  2. Skevington SM, Lotfy M, O'Connell KA; WHOQOL Group. The World Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. A report from the WHOQOL group. Qual Life Res. 2004 Mar;13(2):299-310. doi: 10.1023/B:QURE.0000018486.91360.00. PMID: 15085902.
  3. Keller SD, Ware JE Jr, Gandek B, Aaronson NK, Alonso J, Apolone G, Bjorner JB, Brazier J, Bullinger M, Fukuhara S, Kaasa S, Leplège A, Sanson-Fisher RW, Sullivan M, Wood-Dauphinee S. Testing the equivalence of translations of widely used response choice labels: results from the IQOLA Project. International Quality of Life Assessment. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 Nov;51(11):933-44. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(98)00084-5. PMID: 9817110.
  4. Gjocaj M, Ukelli S, Shahini L, Kabashi K, Muçaj S, Musa J, et al. The nursing impact at Kosovo prison health services. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences. 2023;XX, Article 100664.
  5. Kosovo Correctional Service. Annual Report 2023. Online available from: https://shkk.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Raporti-vjetor-i-pun.... Accessed 07 07 2024.
  6. Araújo CSC, Minamisava R, Matos MA, Vieira CCF, Vitorino PVO, Rodríguez-Martín D, Chaveiro N, Oliveira LMAC, Brasil VV, Nogueira DJ, Salha LA, Barbosa MA. Associated Factors of Quality of Life in Prison Officers, Brazil. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 17;17(10):3508. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103508.
  7. Schaufeli WB, Peeters MC. Job stress and burnout among correctional officers: A literature review. International Journal of Stress Management.2000;7(1):19-48.
  8. Lambert EG, Hogan NL. Correctional Staff: The Issue of Job Stress. In: Ternes M, Magaletta PR, Patry MW, editors. The Practice of Correctional Psychology. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2018. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-00452-1_12
  9. James L, Todak N, Best S. The negative impact of prison work on sleep health. Am J Ind Med. 2017;60(5):449-456. doi:10.1002/ajim.22714.
  10. Griffin ML, Hogan NL, Lambert EG. Career Stage Theory and Turnover Intent Among Correctional Officers. Criminal Justice and Behavior.2014;41(1):4-19.
  11. Garcia HA. Correctional officer stress: A comparison between a treatment and control facility. Criminal Justice and Behavior. ???35(3):300-311.
  12. Keinan G, Malach-Pines A. Stress and burnout among prison personnel: Sources, outcomes, and intervention strategies, Criminal Justice and Behavior.2007;34(3):380-398.
  13. Boudoukha AH, Altintas E, Rusinek S, Fantini-Hauwel C, Hautekeete M. Inmates-to-staff assaults, PTSD and burnout: profiles of risk and vulnerability. J Interpers Violence. 2013 Jul;28(11):2332-50. doi: 10.1177/0886260512475314. Epub 2013 Feb 11. PMID: 23400884.
  14. Dignam JT, Barrera M Jr, West SG. Occupational stress, social support, and burnout among correctional officers. Am J Community Psychol. 1986 Apr;14(2):177-93. doi: 10.1007/BF00911820. PMID: 3717088.
  15. Ellison JM, Caudill JW. Working on local time: Testing the job-demand-control-support model of stress with jail officers. J Crim Justice. 2020 Sep-Oct;70:101717. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101717. Epub 2020 Aug 13. PMID: 32836499; PMCID: PMC7423515.
  16. Eisapareh K, Nazari M, Kaveh MH, Ghahremani L. The relationship between job stress and health literacy with the quality of work life among Iranian industrial workers: The moderating role of social support. Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues.2022;41(5):2677–2685
  17. Armstrong GS, Griffin ML. Does the job matter? Comparing correlates of stress among treatment and correctional staff in prisons, Journal of Criminal Justice. 2004;32(6):577-592.
  18. Steiner BM, Wooldredge J. Individual and environmental sources of work stress among prison officers, Criminal Justice and Behavior. 2015;42(8):800-818.
  19. Finney C, Stergiopoulos E, Hensel J, Bonato S, Dewa CS. Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2013 Jan 29;13:82. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-82. PMID: 23356379; PMCID: PMC3564928.
  20. Butler HD, Tasca M, Zhang Y, Carpenter C. A systematic and meta-analytic review of the literature on correctional officers: Identifying new avenues for research, Journal of Criminal Justice. 2019;60(2):84–92.
  21. Costa V, Monteiro S, Cunha AI, Pereira H, Esgalhado G. Job stress and burnout among prison staff: a systematic literature review Journal of Criminal Psychology.2024;14(2):196–212.
  22. Araújo CSC, Minamisava R, Matos MA, Vieira CCF, Vitorino PVO, Rodríguez-Martín D, Chaveiro N, Oliveira LMAC, Brasil VV, Nogueira DJ, Salha LA, Barbosa MA. Associated Factors of Quality of Life in Prison Officers, Brazil. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 17;17(10):3508. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103508. PMID: 32429589; PMCID: PMC7277174.
  23. Wu X, Liu Q, Li Q, Tian Z, Tan H. Health-Related Quality of Life and Its Determinants among Criminal Police Officers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Apr 18;16(8):1398. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16081398. PMID: 31003430; PMCID: PMC6518095.
  24. Costa FGD, Vieira LS, Cócaro MG, Azzolin KO, Dal Pai D, Tavares JP. Quality of life, health conditions and life style of civil police officers. Rev Gaucha Enferm. 2020 Jun 12;41:e20190124. English, Portuguese. doi: 10.1590/1983-1447.2020.20190124. PMID: 32555952.
  25. Barreto CR, Carvalho FM, Lins-Kusterer L. Factors associated with health-related quality of life of military policemen in Salvador, Brazil: cross-sectional study. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2021 Jan 18;19(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s12955-020-01661-0. PMID: 33461572; PMCID: PMC7814581.
  26. Kinman G, Clements AJ, Hart J. Work-related stress and well-being in UK prison officers. Occupational Medicine. ???;67(2):126-132.
  27. Skar M, Lokdam N, Liebling A, Muriqi A, Haliti D, Rushiti F, Modvig J. Quality of prison life, violence and mental health in Dubrava prison. Int J Prison Health. 2019 Aug 29;15(3):262-272. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-10-2017-0047. Epub 2019 May 31. PMID: 31329035.
  28. Feijó F, Bunchen C, Kersting I, Oliveira PAB. Mental health and quality of life are strongly associated to occupational stress: A study with workers from a youth custody centre in Brazil. Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2018;75:A606.
  29. Ryan P, Hill R, Anczewska M, Hardy P, Kurek A, Nielson K, Turner C; Oscar Group. Team-based occupational stress reduction: a European overview from the perspective of the OSCAR Project. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2005 Oct;17(5):401-8. doi: 10.1080/09540260500238645. PMID: 16245389.
  30. Gonçalves SG, Mesas AE, Bravo DS, Birolim MM, Guidoni CM, Andrade SM, Rodrigues R. Association between sleep quality and occupational factors in Brazilian correctional officers. Behav Sleep Med. 2023 Jul-Aug;21(4):397-410. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2022.2106985. Epub 2022 Aug 5. PMID: 35930240.
  31. Help Kosovo. Project “Support to socio-economic stability in the western Balkans region 2019-2020”. Online available from: https://help-kosovo.org/correctional-institutions-2/. Accessed 28 06 2024.
  32. Tavakol M, Dennick R. Making sense of Cronbach's alpha. Int J Med Educ. 2011 Jun 27;2:53-55. doi: 10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd. PMID: 28029643; PMCID: PMC4205511.
  33. Webster IW, Porritt DW, Brennan PJ. Reported health, life-style and occupational stress in prison officers. Community Health Stud. 1983 Oct;7(3):266-77. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1983.tb00058.x. PMID: 6641146.

Download Article
Received August 5, 2024.
Accepted September 29, 2024.
©2024 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.