title: Occupational injuries for consecutive and cumulative shifts among hospital registered nurses and patient care associates: a case-control study.
abstract: Nontraditional work shifts for hospital registered nurses and patient care associates and associated injuries were examined through a case-control study. Inpatient care requires that many staff work nontraditional shifts, including nights and 12-hour shifts, but some characteristics remain unexplored, especially consecutive shifts. A total of 502 cases (injured workers) were matched to single controls based on their hospital, unit type, job type, gender, and age (± 5 years). Conditional logistic regression was used for the analysis, controlling for weekly hours scheduled. For both, consecutive shifts of 2 or more days and some various cumulative shifts over a week and month period, especially night shifts, were associated with increased odds of injury. More investigations on the phenomenon of consecutive shifts are recommended. Additionally, the assessment of shift policy and subsequent injury outcomes is necessary before implementing intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Systems Science, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA. khopcia@uic.edu
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hopcia
authors.forename: Jack Tigh
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Dennerlein
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Orechia
authors.forename: Glorian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sorensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009785:Occupational Health Nursing; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000453:epidemiology*