Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the association between night shift work and the prevalence of some diseases and working conditions among nurses. Material and Methods: The study included 278 subjects (213 working on night shifts and 65 working only during the day). The data were collected via a survey based on a questionnaire adapted from the “Standard Shiftwork Index”. We analyzed the absolute frequency, the mean and the dispersion index expressed as the standard deviation for each of the diseases and working conditions. Results: We found no substantial differences between the two groups in terms of chronic fatigue, digestive and cardiovascular disorders, although these problems appear to be more pronounced among nurses working on night shifts. In general, we observed some statistically significant increased frequency of lower job satisfaction, poorer quality of sleep and minors mental disorders among the night shift nurses, compared to the day shift ones. Finally, there is to be added that the group of nurses working on night shift was composed by younger subjects on average, with a shorter work experience, and by a higher frequency of unmarried subjects compared to the day shift ones. Conclusions: Despite being younger by birth, we observed a higher frequency of diseases in the night shift nurses, compared to the day shift nurses. There is a need for further long-term observational studies about the shift work theme in the populations of nurses.