Investigation of the health status of emergency nurses working in shifts and the factors associated with it

Background Emergency nurses commonly work shifts, and their health status may vary under these working conditions. The factors associated with this variation are not well understood. Objective The study aimed to investigate the health of emergency nurses working shifts and the factors associated with their health, including sleep, fatigue, and physical, mental, and social health. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency departments of public hospitals in the Aegean region of Turkey between May and November 2023. The sample included 218 emergency nurses. Data were collected using the Survey of Shiftworkers. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. Results The mean scores obtained from the sub-dimensions were as follows: 2.98±0.53 for sleep disturbance, 2.66±0.79 for feeling tired, 1.91±0.55 for digestive problems, 1.68±0.48 for cardiovascular problems, 2.11±0.69 for having a minor infectious disease, 2.38±0.72 for musculoskeletal pain, 0.88±0.43 for negative emotions, 2.17±0.52 for neurotic characteristics, and 2.63±1.09 for social and home-related disruptions. Age, sex, marital status, the number of people living at home other than the respondent, the number of dependents at home, length of service in the profession, weekly overtime hours, working in morning/day, night, and 24-h shifts, workload during the shift, control over the work pace during the shift, feeling good in the early morning and ease of sleeping at unusual times or places were associated with health outcomes (p < 0.05). Conclusions These findings suggest that shift work may be one of several factors associated with the health issues of emergency nurses.