COVID–19 and police personnel: An exploratory community based study from South India

Introduction: COVID-19 has ensured that countries enforced complete lock down to prevent the spread of infection. Despite millions of people working from home during this pandemic situation, police personnel 'the front line workers' who deal with the general population to ensure their safety and wellbeing are at risk of stress and other mental health problems in addition to the risk of infection itself. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the perception of police personnel towards the disease, factors influencing stress and coping abilities of them amid COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted using in-depth interviews among randomly selected police personnel working in COVID-19 situation across the district of Karaikal, Puducherry. Results: Of the 32 police personnel, majority were of age group 36-45 (43.75%), followed by 25-35 (37.5%). More than half of them were married (78.12%). Around 62.5% had been in the present occupation for more than 5 years. The in depth interviews were group under 5 themes namely perception, practice they follow amid COVID-19, stress they go through, challenges faced, coping strategies used by them. Conclusion: It is the need of the hour to care for the well-being of frontline workers, especially police personals.