Impact of Shift Work on Nurses' Health

This essay aims to look at the first scenario regarding the impact of shift work on nurses’ health. The negative impact of shift work on nurses’ health has been well documented in the literature (Chen, Davis, Daraiseh, Pan and Davis (2014), Dall’Ora, Griffiths, Ball, Simon and Aiken (2015) ).  There has been a rise in the number of acute areas and wards adopting these 12 hour shift patterns to cover a 24 hour care rota. As a result there is a growing body of evidence debating whether 12 hour shifts are directly related to ill health and increased absence amongst nursing staff (Berryman, Lukes, & Keller, 2009).

The Royal College of Nursing guidelines (RCN) (2012) state that the average cost of sickness absence to each National Health Organisation (NHS) is £3.3 million per year. With this evidence in mind the author has chosen to design a small pilot study to investigate this further and to examine an increase in staff absence following the introduction of a change in rota from 7.5 hours to 12 hours within an acute medical ward.

The study will attempt to answer the following research aim:

‘What are acute medical nurses perceptions and experiences of these new 12 hour shift patterns on their health and well-being?

Objectives:

• To gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of nurses working 12 hour shifts and whether they feel it has had an affect on their health.
• To explore nurses experiences of this transition from 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shift patterns on their day to day lives

The assignment will firstly discuss the search strategy, before evaluating the key pieces of evidence found in relation to the hierarchy of evidence. An overview of the research study will be discussed in relation to each stage of the research process followed by a summary of the main issues identified in the essay.

Through undertaking a review of the literature a research gap was identified. Although there was a large amount of literature on the topic the evidence consisted mainly of observational quantitative studies and there was very little primary qualitative studies o the topic. Much of the literature reviewed state that results are inconclusive and most highlight a need for further research on this important topic particularly around nurses’ perceptions and experiences of these 12 hour shift patterns on their health and wellbeing.

A PIO framework (Booth 2006) was used to help formulate the research question/aim:

Therefore the following aim was developed for this study;

 ‘What are acute medical nurses perceptions and experiences of these new 12 hour shift patterns on their health and well-being?’

Approach/Design

The research question is important as it guide’s the researcher in the choice of methodology (Doody & Bailey, 2016). To answer the above aim a qualitative research approach was chosen as the most appropriate approach (Parahoo 2014). This approach aims to understand and explore human experience, perceptions and beliefs, and seeks to understand phenomena that cannot easily be measured by scientific methods (Parahoo, 2014). The quantitative research approach on the other hand is a formal, objective and a systematic process that collects numerical data to generate information (Burns and Grove 2017). This approach was not appropriate to answer the research aim as the researcher aims to gain an in depth understanding of the nurses’ perceptions and feelings of the new 12 hour shift pattern.

Phenomenology is qualitative design, which focuses on the lived experience of participants, striving to gain insight into a phenomenon through individuals’ views and perceptions (Burns and Grove 2017). This design was considered appropriate for answering the research aim as the researcher wishes to examine the nurses’ experiences on the phenomena. There are however, strengths and limitations to the use of the phenomenological design (Gerrish and Lathlean 2015). It can provide the methodology to decipher rich and meaningful accounts of human experience, however its success relies on the literacy of the researcher and the articulacy of the participant (Gerrish and Lathlean 2015).

1. Introduction
Does provide a clear research problem/question identified from the scenario?
Does it provide an overview of the issues/aims of the small pilot study?

2. Find the Evidence
Do you provide a clear summary of your search strategy – including relevant data bases and a justification of key words?
Have you identified key pieces of evidence relevant to your chosen scenario?
Have you discussed the hierarchy of evidence?

3. Designing your study
Have you provided a key research questions/aim/hypothesis for your study?
Have you clearly identified a research approach?
Have you included a discussion on:  sampling; data collection; data analysis; ethics etc. (think about the research process)
Have you provided evidence to support the decisions and approaches you have made?

4. Sharing your research
Have you discussed dissemination relevant to your proposed pilot study?
Have you discussed barriers to implementation and how these might be overcome?

5. Conclusion
Have you summarised the key points made in the assignment?
Have you discussed the implications and impact that the pilot study might have in clinical practice?
Have you ensured that it does not it contain any new material?

6. Referencing and presentation
Have you referenced correctly using APA6th referencing style?
Is the material in the reference list cited in the essay and vice versa?
Are the font size, line spacing, and margins appropriate (double line spaced, size 12 font)?
Have you included page numbers?
Is your paragraphing clear? (indented first line or line space left)
Does the body of each paragraph explain and develop the first key sentence?
Did you spell and grammar check?
Have you adhered to the word count and stated this word count on your essay document?