Sleep disorders mediate the relationship between work family conflict and burnout in shift nurses

To examine the prevalence of sleep disorders, work-family conflict, and job burnout among shift-working nurses and to analyse the mediating role of shift-related sleep disorders in the relationship between work-family conflict and job burnout within this population. A convenience sampling method was used to select 401 registered on-duty shift nurses from a tertiary grade A hospital in China for a questionnaire survey. The survey utilized a general information questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), and the Work-family Conflict Scale (WFC). Multiple hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the mediating role of sleep disorders in the relationship between work-family conflict and job burnout. Ultimately, 363 shift nurses participated in the survey, and the average sleep quality score was 9.29 ± 3.68. The average score for work-family conflict was 70.19 ± 17.62. The average score for burnout was 2.32 ± 0.57. Work-family conflict was positively correlated with sleep disorders and burnout, and sleep disorders played a mediating role in the relationship between work-family conflict and burnout, with a mediating effect of 0.0566, accounting for 15.77% of the total effect. Nursing managers should pay close attention to the hazards of sleep disorders caused by shift work. By reasonably allocating nursing human resources and improving shift schedules, managers can ensure that nurses get adequate rest after night shifts. Nursing managers should also focus on providing psychological support to reduce the occurrence of sleep disorders among shift nurses. Nurses themselves should actively seek family support, develop good sleep habits and improve sleep quality to enhance their professional health and ensure patient safety and care quality.