Abstract
Nursing home caregivers (n=775; 604 women; mean age 33.6 years) were studied to examine how work schedules affect their sleep. The shift group (n=536) worked under a rotating two-shift system (n=365), a rotating three-shift system (n=66), or other types of shifts (n=78). The non-shift group included 222 caregivers. Participants completed a questionnaire about working conditions, sleep problems, health, lifestyle, and demographic factors. The two-shift caregivers reported the highest levels of difficulty initiating sleep (DIS, 37.6%), insomnia symptoms (43.0%), and poor quality of sleep (24.9%) among the groups. Adjusted odds ratios for these problems were significantly greater for the two-shift caregivers than for non-shift counterparts: DIS (odds ratio 2.86, 95% confidence interval 1.57-5.20), insomnia symptoms (2.33, 1.36-4.02), and poor sleep quality (2.15, 1.09-4.22). Our data suggest that working under a rotating two-shift system, which has a longer night shift, is associated with an elevated risk of sleep problems for nursing home caregivers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 597-604 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Applied Ergonomics |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Human Factors and Ergonomics
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
- Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
- Engineering (miscellaneous)