Affiliation:
1. Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
2. San Paolo Bachelor School of Nursing, San Paolo Teaching Hospital, Milan, Italy
3. Health Professions Research and Development Unit, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy
4. Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Nursing is characterized by a working articulation in shifts to ensure continuity of care throughout the 24 h. However, shift work and the resulting desynchronization of circadian rhythms may have adverse effects on nurses’ health.
Aims
To describe the effects of shift work and desynchronization of circadian rhythms on nurse’s health.
Methods
Databases: PubMed, Cinahl, Scopus, Embase and Ilisi. Search terms (free terms, MeSH): ‘nurses’, ‘shiftwork’, ‘nightwork’, ‘sleep disorder, circadian rhythm’, ‘work schedule tolerance’, ‘breast neoplasm’, ‘metabolic syndrome X’, ‘metabolic cardiovascular syndrome’, ‘Cardiovascular disease’, ‘stress’, ‘diabetes’. We included all randomized controlled trials, observational studies, reviews and papers studying nurses’ shift work. Quality assessment of the retrieved papers was verified according to Dixon-Woods checklist.
Results
Twenty-four articles were analyzed. Literature review has shown that shift work involves an alteration in psychophysical homeostasis, with a decrease in performance. It is an obstacle for social and family relationships, as well as a risk factor for stress, sleep disorders, metabolic disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and breast cancer.
Conclusions
An organized ergonomic turnaround can be less detrimental to the health of nurses and more beneficial for the healthcare providers. Therefore, we suggest organizing studies to assess whether improving nurses’ health would lead to a reduction in miscarriages, absenteeism and work-related stress.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference35 articles.
1. Decreto legislative (Legislative Decree) 8th April del 2003, n. 66 ‘Attuazione delle direttive 93/104/CE e 2000/34/CE concernenti taluni aspetti dell’organizzazione dell’orario di lavoro’ published in Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 87, 14th April 2003 – Supplemento Ordinario n. 61. 200.
2. [Cross-sectional study on the determinants of work stress for nurses and intention of leaving the profession];Romano;Prof Inferm,2015
3. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: explanation and elaboration;Liberati;Br Med J,2009
4. Conducting a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature on access to healthcare by vulnerable groups;Dixon-Woods;BMC Med Res Methodol,2006