Determination of sleep quality, fatigue, and concentration in nurses according to their shifts and chronotype*

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to determine sleep quality, fatigue, and concentration in nurses according to their shifts and chronotype.
METHODS: This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study including 276 of the 331 nurses working at a foundation university hospital in Ankara. The Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire were used as data forms. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and chi-square test were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: A total of 73.7% of nurses were ‘intermediate-type’ and 21.4% were ‘near morning-type’; 29.9% of nurses who worked during the day and 20% of those who worked rotating shifts were ‘morning-type’ (χ2=11.699, p=0.003). The total PSQI scores were 9.07±3.98 for ‘evening-type’, 8.19±3.76 for ‘intermediate-type’, and 6.57±3.76 for ‘morning-type’ (F=5.536, p=0.004). A total of 77.2% of nurses who had sleep disturbances and 60.1% of those who had no sleep disturbances reported work-related accidents (χ2=9.131, p=0.002); 7.3% of nurses who worked during the day and 17.6% of those who worked in rotating shifts had made a medical error in the previous year (χ2=6.797, p=0.007). The fatigue level was severe in 58.3% of the nurses who had made a medical error and in 37.9% of those who had not made a medical error in the previous year (χ2=6.529, p=0.038). There was no statistically significant difference between these variables according to the chronotype of the nurses.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Chronotype and shift work affect sleep quality in nurses and lead to problems related to patient and employee safety. These results should be considered with respect to the working conditions for nurses.

Hemþirelerin çalýþtýklarý þiftlere ve kronotip özelliklerine göre uyku kalitesi, yorgunluk ve dikkat durumlarýnýn belirlenmesi*

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Bu çalýþmada; hemþirelerin çalýþtýklarý þiftler ve kronotip özelliklerine göre, uyku kalitesi, yorgunluk ve dikkat durumunun belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadýr.
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Bu araþtýrma tanýmlayýcý ve kesitseldir. Ankara’da bir vakýf üniversitesi hastanesinde çalýþan toplam 331 hemþire araþtýrmanýn evrenini, 276’sý örneklemini oluþturmuþtur. Araþtýrmada Hemþirelerin Tanýmlayýcý Özelliklerini Belirleme Formu, Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi Ýndeksi ve Sabahçýl-Akþamcýl Anketi kullanýlmýþtýr. Verilerin analizinde tanýmlayýcý istatistikler, ki-kare, baðýmsýz gruplarda t testi ve varyans analizi kullanýlmýþtýr.
BULGULAR: Hemþirelerin %73.7'si “Ara Tip”, %21.4'ü “Sabahçýl Tipe Yakýn”dýr. Gündüz þiftinde çalýþanlarýn %29.9’u, gece ya da karýþýk þiftlerde çalýþmayý tercih edenlerin ise %20'si Kesinlikle Sabahçýl ve Sabahçýl Tipe Yakýn hemþirelerden oluþmuþtur (χ2=11.699, p=0.003). Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi Ýndeksi toplam puan ortalamasý Kesinlikle Akþamcýl Tip ve Akþamcýl Tipe Yakýn Olanlar’da 9.07±3.98, Ara Tip’lerde 8.19±3.76 ve Kesinlikle Sabahçýl Tip ve Sabahçýl Tipe Yakýn Olanlar’da 6.57±3.76’dýr (F=5.536, p=0.004). Uyku sorunu yaþadýðýný belirtenlerin %77.2’sinin, yaþamayanlarýn ise %60.1’inin iþ kazasýna maruz kaldýðý (χ2=9.131, p=0.002); sadece gündüz çalýþanlarýn %7.3’ünün, þift þeklinde çalýþanlarýn %17.6’sýnýn son bir yýlda týbbi hata yaptýðý (χ2=6.797, p=0.007); son bir yýlda týbbi hata yapanlarýn %58.3'ünün, hata yapmayanlarýn ise %37.9’unun çalýþtýðý þiftte yorgunluk düzeyinin genel olarak þiddetli olduðu belirlenmiþtir (χ2=6.529, p=0.038). Kronotip özelliklerine göre bu deðiþkenler arasýnda istatistiksel olarak anlamlý bir fark bulunmamýþtýr.
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: Hemþirelerin kronotip özellikleri ve þift þeklinde çalýþmasýnýn uyku kalitesini etkilediði; hasta ve çalýþan güvenliðini tehdit eden sorunlara yol açtýðý dikkate alýnarak çalýþma þiftlerinin buna göre düzenlenmesi önerilebilir.