EFFECTS OF A SINGLE NIGHT SHIFT ON HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL WORK ABILITY – A COHORT STUDY

Abstract

Shift work has many detrimental effects on health and work ability of workers. These effects could increase with age, especially due to workforce aging. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of a single night shift on the Work Ability Index (WAI) scores of hospital healthcare workers. A prospective survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 49 on-call residents working 12-or 16-hour night shifts and 47 nurses working 12-hour night shifts in the emergency department of an urban teaching hospital. The study included analysis of sociodemographic, occupational and medical data collected through a questionnaire during a morning shift change. The participant work capacity was assessed using the short form of the WAI Questionnaire. The mean WAI score for nurses was 40.98 before a night shift and 37.15 after a night shift, which was a statistically significant decrease (p<0.01, 95% CI: 2.39-5.27). Similarly, among residents, the mean WAI score decreased from 43.02 before a night shift to 38.76 after a night shift (p<0.0001, 95% CI: 2.95-5.58). There was a statistically significant difference in WAI scores between nurses and residents (p<0.05). Our results showed that even a single night shift negatively affected the work ability of emergency healthcare workers. We recommend scheduling shift work with fewer night shifts to preserve healthcare worker work ability.