Strain and health implications of nurses’ shift work

Abstract

Objectives: The study investigated whether nurses' different working schedules are associated with different levels of job-related strain, health symptoms and behavior. No reports have been accessible in the relevant literature on the possible association between shift work and job-related strain in nurses. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a large university hospital in North-East Italy, involving 806 nurses working in selected departments. A multilevel logistic regression was applied to assess the association between work shift conditions and selected outcomes. Results: Night shifts were associated not only with higher odds of having a high Job Demand, but also with lower odds of having a high Decision Authority and consequently with a stronger likelihood of having higher levels of Job Strain (high Job Demand score ≥ 38 and Low Decision Authority). The night shift was associated with various symptoms, particularly exhaustion (p = 0.039) and gastric pain (p = 0.020). Nurses' working schedules did not affect their job satisfaction scores. Conclusions: It has been confirmed that night shifts are a risk factor for nurses' health perception and working night shifts carries a considerable degree of strain. This is a condition that hospital nursing managements need to consider carefully to avoid burnout in nursing personnel and prevent an excessive turnover in this profession, which is a recurring problem for health care organizations.

Company Policies on Working Hours and Night Work in Relation to Older Workers’ Work Ability and Work Engagement: Results From a Dutch Longitudinal Study with 2 Year Follow-Up

“…Possibly older workers are experiencing an increased vitality if they have recently stopped with evening and night work shifts. Research of Buja et al [42] has shown that night shifts of nurses were associated with various symptoms, such as exhaustion. As night shifts are thus related to poorer health, exemption from them may lead to better health, which is strongly related to work engagement [11,13].…”

Serum Cortisol Level and Depression Among Shift-Working Nursing Staff in a University Hospital

“…In this study, the response rate was relatively high (97%) in comparison with other studies (Grossman, 1997 andBuja et al, 2013), indirectly suggesting the awareness of nurses of the potential impact of this issue on professional well-being.…”

Impacto del trabajo a turnos en la salud y la conciliación laboral/familiar del personal de enfermería en el Hospital General San Jorge de Huesca

“…65%, mientras que los trabajadores del TM presentaron la puntuación más favorable para la satisfacción donde prácticamente la totalidad de la muestra estaba satisfecha 97,5%. Al comparar estos resultados con los datos de la literatura existente resultan contradictorios, mientras algunos autores establecen que los MT y MTN se asocian con una mayor insatisfacción 43,44 , otros autores han demostrado que el grado de satisfacción laboral de los profesionales sanitarios es independiente a los turnos de trabajo 45,46 . El grado de satisfacción por sexo mostró que los hombres estaban más satisfechos que las mujeres, aunque la diferencia fue mínima (72,4% y 80%) y por tanto no estadísticamente significativa, ningún hombre se mostró muy insatisfecho.…”