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The impact of shift work on nurses' job stress, sleep quality and self‐perceived health status
Author(s) -
Lin ShuHui,
Liao WenChun,
Chen MeiYen,
Fan JunYu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/jonm.12020
Subject(s) - checklist , shift work , medicine , nursing , mental health , health care , psychology , psychiatry , economics , cognitive psychology , economic growth
Aim The aim of this study was to describe the current state of nurses' shift work in T aiwan and how it affects nurses' stress, sleep quality and self‐perceived health status. Background To enable the provision of 24‐hour patient care, nurses need to work various shifts. Long‐term shift work significantly affects nurses' overall physical and mental health. Method Nurses from four C hiayi C ounty district hospitals in T aiwan ( n = 266) participated in this cross‐sectional study from A ugust to S eptember 2010. Demographics, work schedule forms, a stress checklist, a sleep‐quality measure and a health‐status measure were used to collect data. Independent t ‐test, one‐way anova , P earson's r , and hierarchical regression were applied for analysis. Results The results showed that regardless of the amount of shift work they performed, nurses reported moderate job stress, poor sleep quality and moderate self‐perceived health. The following significant relationships were observed: job stress was inversely related to sleep quality, which was directly related to self‐perceived health status. Conclusion and implications for nursing management Hospital managers need to ensure more healthy shift work scheduling in order to improve nurses' clinical performance and personal health status, thereby also improving the quality of patient care.