Health behavior, sleep quality and subjective health status among Hungarian nurses working varying shifts

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Distinctly, shift work is burdensome for nurses and may lead to health problems. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to examine the nursing shift system genres and to analyze the potentially debilitating effects upon sleep quality and the subjective state of physical and mental health when considering varying shift schedules. METHODS: The first cross-sectional study (n = 639) was performed at the Clinical Center at the University of Pécs, and throughout various hospitals in the South-Danubian Region. The Hungarian version of the Bergen Shift Work Sleep Questionnaire, the Berlin Questionnaire and the 13-item Sense of Coherence Scale were implemented. In the longitudinal survey (n = 52), the quality of sleep was determined by the ActiGraph GT1M type of activity meter supplemented with a sleep diary. RESULTS: Interestingly, most respondents weight gained among the irregular schedule group (p = 0.004). The nurses working a flexible schedule reportedly slept better (p = 0.003), had a higher sense of coherence (p = 0.013) and exhibited better subjective health status (p = 0.017) than when compared with nurses working irregular shifts. The frequency of psychosomatic complaints aligned with the length of rest periods proved influential (p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: Admittedly, the irregularity of work schedules is stressful for nurses. Due to the health status of nurses, it is a worthy consideration to establish the least exhausting work schedules.