Influences of shift work on fatigue among nurses

yuan s.c., chou m.c., chen c.j., lin y.j., chen m.-c., liu h.-h., & kuo h.-w. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19, 339–345 Influences of shift work on fatigue among nurses Aim  To compare the symptoms of fatigue and physiological indices in nurses who work during the day with nurses who work in shifts. Method  One-hundred and seven nurses were recruited and asked to assess their symptoms of fatigue before their work commenced and after it finished. Results  Using logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates, it was found that nurses who work in shifts were more fatigued than nurses who work during the day (odds ratio = 2.44, P < 0.10). There was a significant difference regarding critical flicker fusion in the two groups of nurses (P = 0.032), and nurses who work in shifts had poorer physiological indices than nurses who work during the day. Conclusion  It is clear that differing work schedules result in differing levels of fatigue, with shift work attributing to higher levels than day work. Implications for Nursing Management  Nurse managers need to take into account the fatiguing effects of different work schedules when designing rostering patterns.