Abstract
Policing is a high-risk occupation in which musculoskeletal injuries are common. This master’s thesis explores police officers’ return to work experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand to better understand facilitators and barriers of return to work. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with purposive sampling, six police officers’ return to work experiences were collected and analysed. Inclusion criteria were deployable staff who become temporarily undeployable as a result of a musculoskeletal injury within two specific police districts and had completed a return-to-work program within the last six months (as of September 2021). Results identified four main themes from participants accounts: Return to Work is a Mystery, Making Sense of the Ghetto, Good Rehabilitation Looks Like Valuing the Person, and Questioning Belonging to the Police ‘Family’. Analysis of interviews revealed that police officers’ identity is profoundly impacted during the return to work process, influenced significantly by the police culture around injured workers. Specialised and expert vocational practitioners are key to navigating the hierarchical and disjointed police health service. Existing inequalities within the police organisation, such as differential treatment of women and minimal attention to cultural needs, are exacerbated by the internal return to work process of the police service.