title: Fatigue and recovery in 12-hour dayshift hospital nurses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study investigated the status of acute fatigue, chronic fatigue and inter-shift recovery among 12-hour shift nurses and how they differed by organisational and individual factors.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  While the 12-hour shift has been a widely accepted staffing solution in hospitals, the fatigue-recovery process in nurses working 12-hour shifts remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was completed by 130 full-time nurses working 12-hour dayshifts in three hospitals to assess the perceived levels of acute fatigue, chronic fatigue and inter-shift recovery, as well as their associations with selected organisational and individual factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nurses experienced a moderate to high level of acute fatigue and moderate levels of chronic fatigue and inter-shift recovery. Fatigue and recovery levels differed by the interaction between hospital and unit after controlling for individual factors. Lack of regular exercise and older age were associated with higher acute fatigue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An unhealthy fatigue-recovery process was found for nurses working a 12-hour shift during the day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There appears to be a need to establish fatigue intervention programmes for 12-hour shift nurses in hospitals. Hospital administration, unit managers and staff nurses need to collaborate to achieve a healthy fatigue-recovery balance when implementing 12-hour shifts.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Health Studies, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kermit G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Daraiseh
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance
keywords: Magnet hospital; aging; exercise; nursing work environment; shift length