EffectofShiftWorkonPhysicalandPsychologicalHealthofNursingStaff

Abstract

ift work involves work hours that most people consider unconventional and demanding (e.g., working during the night or starting work very early in the morning) so shift-work can have many physical, psychological, and social effects on the worker. The problems occur from working in opposition to the body’s normal circadian sleep-wake schedule. Along with physical health problems, shift-work may lead to poorer health habits such as increased consumption of tobacco and reduced physical activity. Tobacco use and reduced activity are often linked with depression.The working in a combination of day and night shifts affected workers by causing fatigue, sleepiness, lethargy, insomnia, digestive problems, depression and anxiety. Aim of the Work: This study aimed to assess the effect of shiftwork on physical and psychological health of nursing staff. Subjects and methods: Research design: Descriptive design was conducted for this study. Setting: The present study was conducted at Ain Shams Specialized Hospital affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospitals.

Sample size and characteristics The sample composed of 100 nursing staff under the criteria of: • Sex : Female nurses. • Age : 30-50 years old. • Experience : having at least one year experience and engaged in shiftwork. The actual field work was carried out from December (2014) up to February (2015). The researcher was available in the study setting two days per week (Wednesday & Thursday) divided as follows: during first period (8.00 am to 2.00 pm) to meet morning shift nurses and during the second period to meet afternoon shift nurses (2 pm to 8.00) and after 8.00 pm to meet night shift nurses, the interviewing took 15-20 minutes for each female nurse. Tool of data collection: Data were collected using the following tool:  Interview questionnaire sheet, it was written in simple Arabic language and it consisted of three parts: o Part I: Nursing staff sociodemographic data including age, years of experience, social status and residence. o Part II: Data collection about description the procedures of designing the shift work.