Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 63. No. 1, 2024.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2024.63.01.8
Effects of a single night shift on healthcare professional work ability – a cohort study
Maša Sorić
; Department of Emergency Medicine, Dubrava University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Milan Milošević
; University of Zagreb, School of Medicine; Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Shift work has many detrimental effects on health and work ability of workers.
These effects could increase with age, especially due to workforce aging. The aim of the study was to
examine the effect of a single night shift on the Work Ability Index (WAI) scores of hospital healthcare
workers. A prospective survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 49 on-call residents working
12- or 16-hour night shifts and 47 nurses working 12-hour night shifts in the emergency department
of an urban teaching hospital. The study included analysis of sociodemographic, occupational and
medical data collected through a questionnaire during a morning shift change. The participant work
capacity was assessed using the short form of the WAI Questionnaire. The mean WAI score for
nurses was 40.98 before a night shift and 37.15 after a night shift, which was a statistically significant
decrease (p<0.01, 95 % CI: 2.39-5.27). Similarly, among residents, the mean WAI score decreased
from 43.02 before a night shift to 38.76 after a night shift (p<0.0001, 95% CI: 2.95-5.58). There was
a statistically significant difference in WAI scores between nurses and residents (p<0.05). Our results
showed that even a single night shift negatively affected the work ability of emergency healthcare
workers. We recommend scheduling shift work with fewer night shifts to preserve healthcare worker
work ability.
Keywords
Fatigue; Healthcare professionals; Hospitals; Shift work schedule; Work Ability Index
Hrčak ID:
322028
URI
Publication date:
1.4.2024.
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