Physical and Mental Wellbeing of Police Force Personnel: A Bibliometric Analysis and Future Directions

AbstractPurposeThe physical and mental wellbeing of police force personnel is a significant area of research as they face numerous physical and mental health challenges due to the dynamic nature of security related duties. This study aims to analyse the trends, key contributors, and research gaps and to suggest future directions in this domain through a review of the literature and bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed literature from 2015 to 2025.Design/Methodology/ApproachThe bibliometric analysis was used in our research. This study evaluates research metrics such as publication trends, author contributions, and country-wise research output. It identifies high-impact publications, major thematic areas, and key gaps in current research. Using the relevant keywords in the Scopus database, we performed a bibliometric analysis on 950 articles. The bibliometric tool through “R” open-source software for thematic mapping and performance analysis, and VOSviewer was used for network analysis and co-occurrence keyword analysis.FindingsThe analysis reveals a growing interest in topics like physical wellness, mental wellness, stress management, resilience training and wellness interventions for police force personnel, with significant contributions from interdisciplinary research. Emerging themes include holistic wellness approaches and workplace wellness strategies.Practical ImplicationsThe findings provide insights for policymakers and law enforcement agencies to develop evidence-based wellness programs, highlighting the need for integrated wellness model and strategies to enhance physical and mental wellbeing of police force personnel.NoveltyThis bibliometric study offers a comprehensive and systematic perspective on research trends, gaps and future directions for wellbeing of police force personnel.