TY - JOUR

T1 - Sleep and fatigue management strategies

T2 - How nurses, midwives and paramedics cope with their shift work schedules—a qualitative study

AU - Booker, Lauren A.

AU - Fitzgerald, Jarrah

AU - Mills, Jane

AU - Bish, Melanie

AU - Spong, Jo

AU - Deacon-Crouch, Melissa

AU - Skinner, Timothy C.

N1 - Funding Information: The team would like to thank all the healthcare workers that volunteered to be interviewed for the project. Open access publishing facilitated by La Trobe University, as part of the Wiley - La Trobe University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Funding Information: This project was funded by WorkSafe Victoria. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - Aims: To understand the benefits and challenges of shift work, and the coping strategies used by nurses, midwives and paramedics to manage the impact of shift work on sleep and fatigue from shift work. Design: A single case study with embedded units. Methods: Twenty-seven participants were interviewed exploring their shift work experiences, coping strategies used to improve sleep, and what their recommendations are for improving shift work management. Interviews were completed between November and December 2022. Results: Participants enjoyed the lifestyle, flexibility and financial rewards offered by working shift work. However, fatigue and sleep deprivation undermined these benefits, as it impacted their ability to enjoy social and family events. There were also concerns of long-term health consequences of shift work and delivery of care. Changes to rostering practices and sleep and shift work education were common recommendations. Conclusion: This study provides insights on how healthcare professionals manage sleep and fatigue due to shift work and the inadequate support. There is absence of adequate policies, processes and training at an organizational, academic and personal level on how to best manage sleep and fatigue when working shift work. Future research is needed to explore how to equip healthcare shift workers with the skills to successfully manage their schedules to mitigate the negative impact that poor sleep and fatigue has on the health and safety of themselves and their patients. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: Understanding the specific challenges of shift work and how workers manage their shift work schedules is critical for improving the health and safety of themselves and their patients. This study identified that there is insufficient training regarding sleep and shift work management strategies, potentially leading to occupational health and safety concerns. Further education and training to equip staff with the necessary information, training and guidance to staff on how to reduce fatigue risk is required. Patient or Public Contribution: This study involved healthcare shift workers in semi-structured interviews. Data gathered from a previous survey that participants were involved in helped shape the interview topics and the study design.

AB - Aims: To understand the benefits and challenges of shift work, and the coping strategies used by nurses, midwives and paramedics to manage the impact of shift work on sleep and fatigue from shift work. Design: A single case study with embedded units. Methods: Twenty-seven participants were interviewed exploring their shift work experiences, coping strategies used to improve sleep, and what their recommendations are for improving shift work management. Interviews were completed between November and December 2022. Results: Participants enjoyed the lifestyle, flexibility and financial rewards offered by working shift work. However, fatigue and sleep deprivation undermined these benefits, as it impacted their ability to enjoy social and family events. There were also concerns of long-term health consequences of shift work and delivery of care. Changes to rostering practices and sleep and shift work education were common recommendations. Conclusion: This study provides insights on how healthcare professionals manage sleep and fatigue due to shift work and the inadequate support. There is absence of adequate policies, processes and training at an organizational, academic and personal level on how to best manage sleep and fatigue when working shift work. Future research is needed to explore how to equip healthcare shift workers with the skills to successfully manage their schedules to mitigate the negative impact that poor sleep and fatigue has on the health and safety of themselves and their patients. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: Understanding the specific challenges of shift work and how workers manage their shift work schedules is critical for improving the health and safety of themselves and their patients. This study identified that there is insufficient training regarding sleep and shift work management strategies, potentially leading to occupational health and safety concerns. Further education and training to equip staff with the necessary information, training and guidance to staff on how to reduce fatigue risk is required. Patient or Public Contribution: This study involved healthcare shift workers in semi-structured interviews. Data gathered from a previous survey that participants were involved in helped shape the interview topics and the study design.

KW - and safety

KW - fatigue

KW - healthcare workforce

KW - nurses

KW - occupational health

KW - shift work

KW - sleep

U2 - 10.1002/nop2.2099

DO - 10.1002/nop2.2099

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38268269

AN - SCOPUS:85182819716

VL - 11

JO - Nursing Open

JF - Nursing Open

SN - 2054-1058

IS - 1

M1 - e2099

ER -