Health-Related Quality of Life of Nurses Working Night Shifts

Abstract

Research justifcation. Physical and mental fatigue and emotional exhaustion experienced by night nurses are key factors affecting their health and quality of life. Sleeplessness not only increases the risk of various diseases, but also leads to an exacerbation of chronic diseases. The goal of research was to analyse the health-related quality of life of nurses working night shifts. The methods of research. Sixty night shift nurses were investigated. The 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) was used in the work. Statistical data was processed by using Microsoft Excel 2007 Spreadsheet and SPSS 17 for Windows. The survey was done in accordance with ethical principles. The results of research. Night nurses who used sleeping pills had low physical activity level; their duties were seriously restricted due to physical and emotional problems or physical pain. Moreover, they performed a lower social function and had worse health assessment in comparison with nurses who never or hardly ever took sedatives. The quality of life of night shift nurses was directly related to physical and psycho-emotional health. Physical activity was much better assessed by younger nurses than older ones, especially when comparing the 50–59-year-old nurses with other age groups; 30–39-year-old nurses were less restricted by pain; general health was evaluated better by 30–39-year-old nurses than the older ones. While evaluating the quality of life related to mental health, the radical difference was noticed in social function assessment based on the age of nurses, i.e. 30–39-year-old nurses assessed the social function better than the older ones. Conclusion. Physical and psycho-emotional health influences the quality of life of night shift nurses.

Keywords: the quality of life, psycho-emotional health, physical health, sleep disorders, nursing.