Assessing internet survey data collection methods with ethnic nurse shift workers.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Workforce Demographics
• Sleep Science
• Health Disparities Research

Background:

• Projected increases in ethnic minorities in the US workforce include American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) nurses.
• AI/AN nurses are underrepresented (<1%) in the nursing workforce, impacting culturally congruent care.
• Sociocultural factors influencing sleep disturbances and shift-work tolerance in nurses are understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of Internet data collection (web-based surveys) for studying shift-work-related sleep disturbances.
• To evaluate instrument stability for comparing AI/AN and White non-Hispanic (WNH) nurses.
• To lay the groundwork for a two-phase study on individual differences and sleep in diverse nursing populations.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey was distributed to AI/AN and WNH nurses.
• The survey included validated instruments measuring sleep disturbances, sociocultural factors, time awareness, chronotype, and ethnic identity.
• Recruitment utilized diverse online and offline strategies, including professional organizations and snowballing.

Main Results:

• Internet data collection is feasible for shift-work-related sleep research.
• Instruments for time awareness, chronotype, and sleepiness showed acceptable reliability.
• Recruitment of AI/AN nurses was challenging despite extensive efforts, indicating potential access difficulties.

Conclusions:

• Web-based surveys can collect individual difference and sleep disturbance data from nurse shift workers.
• Challenges exist in accessing and engaging minority populations, such as AI/AN nurses, via the internet.
• Researchers must be vigilant in recruitment and consider potential barriers like computer literacy and study relevance.