The mediating role of sleep quality in relationship between workload with physical and mental health among nurses

Nurses as the most important part of human resources in health service system are often faced with problems associated with shift work. The present study tests a model of the relationship between workload with physical and mental health and with of mediation of sleep quality.
This cross-sectional study was done among 236 nurses working in three educational hospitals in Bojnord city. To collect data Survey of Shiftworkers (SOS) questionnaire was used. Structural equation modeling (SEM) through AMOS-21 and SPSS-19 software package was used for data analysis. In addition, Preacher and Hayes’ SPSS Macro program was used for testing mediation.
The results showed that the proposed model fit the data properly. Also workload directly affected only physical health, and the quality of sleep has a mediator role in the relationship between workload and physical and mental health.
Sleep quality as an important variable can mediate the relationship between workload and physical and mental health in nurses. It is suggested that interventional interventions to improve the health of the staff focus on adjusting and shifting job shifts and teaching the principles of sleep hygiene to them.