Self-reported work-related accumulative fatigue of nurses: A cross-sectional study in public hospitals in China

Abstract

ObjectivesWork-related fatigue is a serious safety risk to nurses and their patients. This study aimed to assess self-reported work-related accumulative fatigue of nurses and its associated factors.MethodsA questionnaire survey of 2,918 clinical nurses conveniently sampled from 48 public hospitals across six provinces in China was conducted. The “Self-diagnosis Checklist for Assessment of Workers' Accumulated Fatigue” was adopted to assess the level of work-related accumulative fatigue of the study participants. Chi-square tests and ordinal regression analyses were performed to determine the sociodemographic characteristics associated with work-related accumulative fatigue.ResultsAbout one third of respondents reported low work-related accumulative fatigue, compared with 23.1% reporting high and 24.6% reporting very high levels of work-related accumulative fatigue. Higher levels of work-related accumulative fatigue were associated with female gender (AOR = 0.614 for male relative to female, p = 0.005), age between 30 and 40 years (AOR = 1.346 relative to >40 years, p = 0.034), 5–10 years of work experience (AOR = 1.277 relative to >10 years, p = 0.034), and bachelor or above degree qualifications (AOR = 0.806 for associate degree relative to bachelor or above degree, p = 0.007). Those who worked in rural county hospitals (AOR = 0.816 for metropolitan relative to rural county hospitals, p = 0.006) and resided in central China (AOR = 1.276 relative to western China, p = 0.004) had higher odds of reporting higher levels of work-related accumulative fatigue.ConclusionHigh levels of work-related accumulative fatigue are evident in nurses of public hospitals in China. The problem is more serious in the female nurses in their mid-career and those who worked in the central region and rural setting.

Turnover intention of nurses in public hospitals and its association with quality of working life: a cross-sectional survey in six provinces in China

“…The association between QWL and turnover intention is echoed by the sociodemographic and work-related predictors of turnover intention revealed in our study, such as workplace violence, sleep deprivation, and lower levels of professional title. Overload has been found to be associated with accumulative fatigue ( 41 ), increased occupational injuries ( 42 ), and higher turnover intention ( 43 ) in nurses in previous studies. Night shifts are common in nursing jobs, which can result in night sleep deprivation and shift work disorder (SWD), leading to ill health, reduced working capacity, and turnover intention ( 44 , 45 ).…”

The prevalence and factors of work-related fatigue among nurses: a meta-analysis and systematic review

“…Twenty-six studies that individual capability plays a role in work-related fatigue among nurses. There was a strong relationship between work experience and work-related fatigue, especially 5-10 years of nursing work experience [21,24,28,45,48,50] . In addition, Seniority and position were statistically signi cant in relation to a high risk of personal and workrelated fatigue [33] .…”

“…There is a correlation between occupational fatigue and the safety climate [31,41] . The work environment emerged as a signi cant predictor of high levels of nurse' fatigue [21,22,57] .…”

“…Thirty studies showed that individual acts and conditions had an impact on nurses' work-related fatigue. The demographic data of age [35,38] , marital status [45,50,62] , gender [21,31,40] , fertility circumstance [22] and quali cations [58] demonstrated a correlation with work-related fatigue. There was a relationship between an unhealthy lifestyle (eating, drinking, exercising) [25,26,48,57, 60] and work-related fatigue.…”