Effect of Shift Work on Sleep Quality among nursing staff in Dammam Governmental Hospitals of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

"Background: Shift work has physiological and psychological effects including biological rhythm disruption, sleep disorders, health problems and diminished work performance. Nursing services must be available along 24-hour making shift work a necessity. Objectives: To assess the effect of shift work on perceived sleep quality among nurses at Dammam governmental hospitals. Also, to investigate the risk factors for poor sleep quality among those nurses. Methodology: A comparative cross-sectional survey study among nurses from two randomly selected governmental hospitals within Dammam City during the period from January 2019 to June 2019. data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire composed of socio-demographic and occupational characteristics of nurses as well as Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Results: A total of 400 nurses participated in this study,293 (73.30 % ) were shift working. ). The global PSQI mean (±SD) score was 9.88 (±4.51), being statistically significant (P 0.013) higher in the shift work group at 10.22 (±4.53) than the only morning shift at 8.97 (±4.38). There was a statistically significant difference in the PSQI score by age, nationality, educational level, and taking sedative or stimulating medications. Conclusion: Shift work significantly lowered sleep quality causing sleep disturbance that impaired functional outcome of studied nurses. Understanding the association between shift work and sleep problems is essential for further recommendations regarding shift work re-scheduling to minimize adverse effects"