Shift work-related problems in 16-h night shift nurses (1): Development of an automated data processing system for questionnaires, heart rate, physical activity and posture.
To assess the shift work-related problems associated with a 16-h night shift in a two-shift system, we took the following important factors into consideration; the interaction between circadian rhythms and the longer night shift, the type of morningness and eveningness experienced, the subjective sleep feeling, the subjects' daily behavior, the effectiveness of taking a nap during the long night shift, and finally the effectiveness of using several different kinds of measuring devices. Included among the measuring devices used were a standard questionnaire, repetitive self-assessment of subjective symptoms and daily behavior at short intervals, and a continuous recording of such objective indices as physical activity and heart rate. A potential problem lies in the fact that field studies that use such measures tend to produce a mass of data, and are thus faced with the accompanying technical problem of analyzing such a large amount of data (time, effort and cost). To solve the data analysis problem, we developed an automated data processing system. Through the use of an image scanner with a paper feeder, standard paper, an optical character recognition function and common application software, we were able to analyze a mass of data continuously and automatically within a short time. Our system should prove useful for field studies that produce a large amount of data collected with several different kinds of measuring devices.
D000465:Algorithms; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D001330:Electronic Data Processing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015444:Exercise; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D009551:Night Care; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology; D011187:Posture; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology