Can sleep quality and burnout affect the job performance of shift-work nurses? A hospital cross-sectional study

The aim of this study was to investigate any possible relationship between sleep disorders, burnout and job performance in a shift-work population of nurses.

Sleep disorders and burnout can affect the job performance of nurses in terms of efficiency, productivity, task execution speed and supervision, which can be compromised when work shifts are organized on a 24-hour schedule and when the shift itself is irregular.

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from August 2014 - January 2015 on a sample of 315 shift-work nurses across 39 wards in seven central Italian hospitals.

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to detect the presence of sleep disorders, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used to detect the presence of any possible type of burnout and the Job Performance Scale was used to measure job performance. Data analysis was mainly based on a multivariate logistic regression to identify variables significantly associated with investigated outcomes.

On shift-work nurses' sleep quality and burnout correlated positively. The female gender and personal burnout were significantly associated with impaired sleep quality, while working in the psychiatric setting, working a long cycle shift pattern and experiencing daytime dysfunction were significantly associated with burnout. A significant negative association between patient-related burnout and job performance was observed.

Specific characteristics of shift-work nurses can directly affect sleep quality and burnout and indirectly job performance. This evidence offers healthcare administrators opportunities to intervene with measures to promote nurse's health, well-being and safety.