Scheduled Naps Improve Drowsiness and Quality of Nursing Care among 12-Hour Shift Nurses

Kihye Han, Heejeong Hwang, Eunyoung Lim, Mirang Jung, Jihye Lee, Eunyoung Lim, Sunhee Lee, Yeon-Hee Kim, Smi Choi-Kwon and Hyang Baek
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Kihye Han: College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea
Heejeong Hwang: Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
Eunyoung Lim: Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
Mirang Jung: Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
Jihye Lee: Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
Eunyoung Lim: Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
Sunhee Lee: Department of Nursing, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
Yeon-Hee Kim: Department of Clinical Nursing, University of Ulsan, Seoul 05505, Korea
Smi Choi-Kwon: The Research Institute of Nursing Science, College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea
Hyang Baek: School of Nursing, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-9

Abstract: Scheduled naps in the workplace are an effective countermeasure to drowsiness in safety-sensitive industries. This quasi-experimental study with a one-group, pre- and post-test design aimed to examine the effects of scheduled naps on nurses working 12-h shifts. Nurses in two pediatric intensive care units at a tertiary hospital were provided 30-min scheduled nap opportunities during their shifts. A total of 38 nurses completed pre- and post-test work diaries for sleepiness, fatigue, work demands and pace, and quality of nursing care at the end of each shift. The drowsiness of 13 nurses was continuously assessed during their shifts using infrared reflectance oculography. Nurses who reached naps reported improved levels of fatigue on the first night shift and better quality of nursing care the second night and day shifts post-test, while nurses who did not reach naps showed no significant improvements. The oculography successfully assessed drowsiness during 73% and 61% of the pre- and post-test total work hours, respectively. The total cautionary and cautionary or higher levels of drowsiness decreased. Nurse managers should consider scheduled naps in clinical settings to improve nurses’ alertness during their shifts.

Keywords: scheduled naps; extended work hours; nurse; fatigue; drowsiness; Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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