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Nurses and shiftwork: effects on physical health and mental depression.
J K Skipper1, F D Jung, L C Coffey
1Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro 27412.
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|July 1, 1990
Summary
Shift work did not significantly impact nurse physical health or mental depression. Specific job factors may influence these outcomes in nursing, warranting further investigation into shiftwork
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Nursing Research
- Psychology
Background:
- Shift work is common in nursing, potentially affecting health and well-being.
- Existing models propose direct or indirect impacts of shift work on physical health and mental depression.
- Understanding these relationships is crucial for improving nurse working conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between shift work, physical health, and mental depression in nurses.
- To test two models: shift work directly impacting health, or indirectly via social/work variables.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 463 nurses across day, afternoon, night, and rotating shifts in five hospitals.
- Utilized a mail-back questionnaire to collect data on health, depression, and social/work variables.
- Analyzed data to test proposed causal models of shift work's influence.
Main Results:
- Shift work was not significantly associated with nurses' physical health or mental depression.
- Neither of the proposed models fully explained the observed relationships.
- Unexpected findings suggest other factors may mediate the impact of shift work in nursing.
Conclusions:
- The direct or indirect effects of shift work on nurse health and depression were not supported in this study.
- Unique nursing job characteristics and unmeasured variables may play a significant role.
- Further research is needed to identify specific factors influencing nurse well-being in shift work environments.