The Impact of 12 h Night Shifts on Nurses' Driving Safety

• Main Authors: Stephen Michael James (Author), Lois James (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

<i><b>Aim</b></i>: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of 12 h day vs. 12 h night shift-accumulated fatigue on nurses' driving safety. <i><b>Background</b></i>: Evidence across industries links work-related fatigue with errors, accidents, and adverse long-term health outcomes. Shifts of 12 h or longer are particularly problematic, and the potential risks to shift-worker driving safety during their post-shift commute home have yet to be fully explored. <b><i>Methods</i></b>: This study used a between-groups, repeated-measures non-randomized control trial. Forty-four nurses working 12 h day shifts and 49 nurses working 12 h night shifts were tested in a driving simulator on two separate occasions-once immediately following their third consecutive 12 h hospital shift and once on their third consecutive day (72 h) off work. <b><i>Results</i></b>: We found that night shift nurses had significantly greater lane deviation during the post-shift drive home compared to day shift nurses, which is a key indicator of collision risk, demonstrating impaired driving safety. <b><i>Conclusions</i></b>: Consecutive 12 h night shifts are an extremely popular shift for nurses working in the hospital setting, however they pose a significant driving safety risk to nurses assigned to night shifts. This study provides objective evidence of the impact of shift work-related fatigue on 12 h night shift nurse safety, allowing us to make recommendations that may help prevent injury or death from motor vehicle collisions.

Item Description

10.3390/nursrep13010040
2039-4403
2039-439X