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Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Influences of shift work on fatigue among nurses
Su Chuan Yuan1, Ming Chih Chou, Chiou Jong Chen
1College of Nursing, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Aim:
To compare the symptoms of fatigue and physiological indices in nurses who work during the day with nurses who work in shifts.
Method:
One-hundred and seven nurses were recruited and asked to assess their symptoms of fatigue before their work commenced and after it finished.
Results:
Using logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates, it was found that nurses who work in shifts were more fatigued than nurses who work during the day (odds ratio = 2.44, P < 0.10). There was a significant difference regarding critical flicker fusion in the two groups of nurses (P = 0.032), and nurses who work in shifts had poorer physiological indices than nurses who work during the day.
Conclusion:
It is clear that differing work schedules result in differing levels of fatigue, with shift work attributing to higher levels than day work.
Implications For Nursing Management:
Nurse managers need to take into account the fatiguing effects of different work schedules when designing rostering patterns.
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