Evaluation or the relationship between shift work and sleepiness in nurses

A large number of workers all over the world work in shift work schedules. Shift work and especially night work can disturb normal body rhythm especially sleep-wake cycle. Nurses as a member of health care workers should work in days and nights. Shift work in addition to its effect on nurse’s personal life can affect his (her) alertness and can decrease productivity and eventually endangers patients’ life.

In this cross-sectional study nurses working in the hospitals of Shahid Sadoughi University of medical sciences were divided into two groups: shift workers (case) and fixed day workers (control). These groups were matched for age, and employment duration. All subjects were selected from different hospital wards. We used two questionnaires, a questionnaire about demographic data and Epworth sleepiness scale. Questionnaires were filled by the nurses under direct supervision of the researcher. Data were analyzed using SPSS (ver. 17) by T test and chi square test.

55 subjects were assessed in each group. Mean ESS point was 8.07 and 6.80 in case and control groups, respectively. This difference was statistically significant. Sleepiness was observed in 29.1% and 14.5% of cases and controls, respectively, but this difference was not statistically significant.

In all, sleepiness was not so common among nurses and in spite of higher frequency of sleepiness among cases; the difference was not statistically significant.