Assessing the Impact of Shift Scheduling on Physical and Psychological Health Among Hospital Nurses
Posted: Jan 19, 2021
Abstract
The nursing profession represents a critical component of healthcare delivery systems worldwide, with hospital nurses constituting the largest segment of the healthcare workforce. These professionals operate within demanding environments characterized by irregular working hours, high-stakes decision-making, and substantial physical and emotional labor. The scheduling patterns under which nurses work have emerged as a significant factor influencing both their wellbeing and the quality of patient care they provide. Traditional approaches to nursing shift scheduling have evolved primarily around operational efficiency and staffing requirements, with insufficient attention to the physiological and psychological consequences for nursing staff. This research addresses this gap through an innovative methodological framework that captures both objective biometric data and rich qualitative experiences. Previous research in this domain has largely relied on cross-sectional surveys and self-reported measures, which are subject to recall bias and social desirability effects. Our study advances the field by implementing continuous physiological monitoring alongside in-depth phenomenological interviews, creating a comprehensive dataset that reveals previously unexamined aspects of shift work impact. The central research questions guiding this investigation include: How do different shift patterns (rotating, fixed night, fixed day) affect objective measures of physiological stress and recovery? What is the relationship between consecutive night shifts and both psychological resilience and clinical performance? How do nurses subjectively experience and make meaning of their shift schedules in the context of their personal and professional lives? Understanding these dynamics is particularly urgent given the global nursing shortage and high rates of burnout within the profession.
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