Night Shift Work and Self-Reported Health Problems Among Hospital Workers in Mogadishu, Somalia: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study
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Updated: Nov 2, 2026
Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Mohamed Abdullahi Ibrahim1, Abdirahman Hassan Hersi2
1Faculty of Health Science, Salaam University, Mogadishu, Somalia.
Background:
Night shift work disrupts circadian rhythms and sleep and has been linked to physical, psychological and occupational health problems. Evidence from Somalia, where hospitals operate with severe staff shortages and limited occupational health support, is scarce.
Purpose:
To describe night shift work characteristics and the prevalence of self-reported physical, psychological and occupational health problems among hospital workers who work night shifts in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Methods:
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between January and June 2026 among 300 hospital workers recruited by purposive sampling from randomly selected public and private hospitals in Mogadishu. Nurses, doctors, laboratory staff, midwives, pharmacists and other hospital staff who had worked night shifts for at least six months completed a structured, self-administered questionnaire developed by the research team, in which each health problem was recorded as a single yes/no item. Prevalence is reported with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results:
Most participants worked rotating shifts (60.7%), 68.7% worked night shifts of 12 hours or longer, and 68.0% were dissatisfied with their shift schedule. The most frequently reported problems were stress (78.7%; 95% CI 73.7-82.9), frequent fatigue (76.0%; 70.9-80.5), sleep problems (71.3%; 66.0-76.2), reduced concentration (68.7%; 63.2-73.7), headaches (64.0%; 58.4-69.2), anxiety (62.7%; 57.1-67.9) and burnout symptoms (58.0%; 52.3-63.4), followed by gastrointestinal problems (39.3%; 34.0-45.0), hypertension symptoms (34.0%; 28.9-39.5) and work-related errors during night shifts (30.7%; 25.7-36.1).
Conclusion:
Self-reported sleep-related, physical, psychological and occupational problems were highly prevalent among night shift hospital workers in Mogadishu. Because the study was descriptive and cross-sectional, with no day-shift comparison group, the findings show the burden of these problems but do not establish that night shift work caused them. Hospital leaders should review shift scheduling and strengthen occupational and mental health support, and longitudinal studies using validated instruments are needed.
