• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.51-56
• /
• 2018

Objective: An automated process for medication preparation and dispensing is essential to improve the quality of work. To reduce night pharmacy workload, a new automated dispensing cabinet system was implemented in a hospital emergency medical center. The purpose of this study is to verify that implementation of an automated dispensing cabinet system will influence the efficiency of night pharmacy work. Methods: To evaluate the new system implementation, a retrospective study and survey was performed in the Ewha Womans University medical center. We compared the dispensing and near-miss error rates between the automated dispensing cabinet system and a night pharmacy. The degree of satisfaction of night shift workers with the new system was surveyed. Results: This study showed significantly reduced dispensing rates of night medications (56.1% and 37.3%; p < 0.01) and near-miss night medications (0.27% and 0.17%; p<0.01). Thirty-two persons responded to the survey, and the satisfaction score for the new system was 4.0 (${\pm}0.8$). The scores were high in order of efficiency, management, and convenience. Time requirement was also reduced because of the simple step of only reviewing in the pharmacy with the new system. Conclusion: Due to system implementation, workload was reduced and time was saved for not only night shift workers but also patients receiving emergency discharge medicine. It was suggested that this will have a positive effect on pharmacist medical service and patient safety.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.295-310
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting job satisfaction, job stress, turnover intention, work-family and family-work relationship of married dental hygienists with young children. Methods: 242 copies of self-reported questionnaires were analyzed. Statistical analysis of collected data was conducted using the statistical program of Stata 13.0 (StataCorp., College Station, TX, USA). Results: Turnover intention was higher when the child age was lower and the child support and parenting stress were higher. But when working hours were adjustable, the turnover intention was low. Job stress was higher as the position, monthly income and night working hours were higher. Job satisfaction was higher as night work was fewer, work time was adjustable and family life satisfaction was higher. When parenting stress was high, job satisfaction was low and job stress and turnover intention were high. Work-family relationships were more affected by lower monthly income and parents-first child caregivers. Workplace factors affecting the family life were monthly income, caregiver and number of night work. The higher the parenting stress, the greater the mutual influence between family and work life. Age, family life, parenting stress and turnover intention were identified to affect family-work relationship. Parenting stress and job stress were identified to be influential on work-family relationship. Conclusions: Married dental hygienists are leaving the clinical setting due to their marriage and childbirth, or showing the effects on family-work and work-family relationships due to parenting. Efforts should be made to efficiently utilize professional manpower and to improve the psychological and physical working environment surrounding the married dental hygienists.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.203-209
• /
• 2018

Background: Night shift work is associated with many problems such as sleep deprivation, sleepiness, decreased cognitive performance, increased human errors, and fatigue. This study set out to measure cognitive performance, melatonin rhythms, and sleep after different consecutive night shifts (7 vs. 4) among control room operators (CORs). Methods: The participants included 60 CORs with a mean age of 30.2 years (standard deviation, 2.0) from a petrochemical complex located in Southern Iran. Cognitive performance was assessed using the n-back task and continuous performance test. To evaluate melatonin, saliva was collected and tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To assess sleep and sleepiness, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Karolinska Sleepiness Scale were used, respectively. Results: Individuals who worked 7 consecutive night shifts had a significantly better cognitive performance and sleep quality than those who worked 4 consecutive night shifts. However, salivary melatonin profile and sleepiness trend were not affected by shift type. Conclusion: The main duty of CORs working night shifts at the studied industry included managing safety-critical processes through complex displays; a responsibility that demands good cognitive performance and alertness. It is suggested that an appropriate number of consecutive night shifts in a rotating shift system should be planned with the ultimate aim of improving CROs performance/alertness and enhancing safety.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.527-535
• /
• 2015

This study was conducted to compare and analyse work-related injuries, physical and mental health status of nurses according to working environment. The subjects were 192 nurses working at a university hospital in Seoul. After analyzing each categories of health status by working environment and work-related injuries, meaningful differences were found physical and mental health status. And shift work was significantly related to work-related injuries compared to non-shift work. In addition, it was confirmed that nurses have negative influences from night work in physical and mental health compared to other work pattern. Thus, it would be necessary to improve working system with considering their health problems caused by working environment and work-related injuries. And we will have to be a study for effective night work and additional support for night workers.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.333-344
• /
• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to provide baseline data to develop work patterns for nurses that are suitable to Korean hospitals. Shift work patterns and nurses' preferences for working condition were examined. Methods: Questionnaires for nurse departments and nurses were mailed to 478 hospitals from June 1 to July 30, 2012. Nurse departments of 174 hospitals and 1,409 nurses responded to the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical program. Results: Of the nurses, 89.4% were working three shifts. Of the hospitals, 17.3% had implemented fixed night work. Although 80% of nurses preferred fixed time work, only 24.9% of hospitals had fixed working hours. Of the nurses, 57% agreed with night work as fixed but potential night nurses accounted for only 17% of the respondents. Sixty-three percent of the nurses agreed on short time work during busy hours. There were preference differences according to age, marital status and clinical career. Conclusion: As many nurses reported a preference for various flexible working patterns rather than three shift work, there is a need for new decisions on hospital policy to ensure improved working conditions for nurses and enhanced job security. Legal requirements also need to be considered for various work patterns.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.86-93
• /
• 2000

This study was conducted to find out the degree of tiredness, accumulated tendencies of fatigues in accordance with 3 types of circadian rhythms and 3 types of perceived fatigue signs such as physical, psychological and neurosensory aspects in before and after work at night. Samples were chosen from the 217 intensive care units nurses working in 13 general hospitals which had 3 shift rotating systems, Data were collected from November to December in 1999. Two hundreds seventeen respondents were classified by 3 circadian types such as 59 morning, 110 middle and 48 evening. Circadian type was measured by the circadian type scale which was designed by ${\ddot{O}}stberg$ and Home (1976). in order to estimate the level of tiredness, the investigator used the fatigue checklist designed by the Labor and Health Institute of Japan(1970). Analysis was done by frequency a percentages, ${\chi}^2$ test and repeated measures ANOVA test. The result of this study were as follow: 1. In the general characteristics of the subjects circadian types, moderate type had the large proportion at 50.7% and morning type had 27.2% and evening type had 22.1%. 2. According to the 3 types of fatigue signs, the highest general tendency was 'General weakness' and 'Feeling of headsore' for physically perceived sign, 'Drowsiness' for psychological sign, and 'Uncomfortableness in sight seeing' for neurosensory sign. 3. The most frequently complained fatigue were observed in physical symptoms among physical, mental, and neurosensual symptoms. The percentage of complained was higher after night work than before the work started. 4. There was not any statistical significant difference between the circadian type and the degree of physical, mental, neurosensory fatigue. 5. There was not any statistical significant difference in regarding to each date of night shift except difference between 1st and 2nd days of fatigue perceived physically. Therefore, the study concluded that the fatigue perceived by night shift nurses might be related with shift working condition rather than circadian types.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.46-54
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study explored the relationship between shift intensity and insomnia among hospital nurses. Methods: The participants were 386 female hospital nurses who underwent a special health examination for night workers in 2015. The Korean Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), indices of shift work intensity, and other covariates such as amount of exercise, level of alcohol consumption, employment duration, and hours worked were extracted from the health examination data. The indices for shift intensity were (1) number of 3 consecutive night shifts and (2) number of short recovery periods after a previous shift, both assessed over the prior 3 months. Multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for the aforementioned covariates was performed to evaluate the association of shift intensity with insomnia, defined as an ISI score of ≥8. Results: The nurses with insomnia tended to be younger (p=0.029), to have worked 3 consecutive night shifts more frequently (p<0.001), to have experienced a greater number of short recovery periods after the previous shift (p=0.021), and to have worked for more hours (p=0.006) than the nurses without insomnia. Among the other variables, no statistically significant differences between groups were observed. Experiences of 3 or more consecutive night shifts (odds ratio [OR], 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 4.20) and 3 or more short recovery periods (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.08 to 3.73) were associated with increased odds of insomnia. Conclusions: The results suggest that decreasing the shift intensity may reduce insomnia among hospital nurses working rotating shifts.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• /
• v.34
• /
• pp.5.1-5.10
• /
• 2022

Background: Some epidemiological studies have estimated exposure among flight attendants with and without breast cancer. However, it is difficult to find a quantitative evaluation of occupational exposure factors related to cancer development individually in the case of breast cancer in flight attendants. That is, most, if not all, epidemiological studies of breast cancer in flight attendants with quantitative exposure estimates have estimated exposure in the absence of individual flight history data. Case presentation: A 41-year-old woman visited the hospital due to a left breast mass after a regular check-up. Breast cancer was suspected on ultrasonography. Following core biopsy, she underwent various imaging modalities. She was diagnosed invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (estrogen receptor positive in 90%, progesterone receptor positive in 3%, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu equivocal) with histologic grade 3 and nuclear grade 3 in the left breast. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered to reduce the tumor size before surgery. However, due to serious chemotherapy side effects, the patient opted for alternative and integrative therapies. She joined the airline in January, 1996. Out of all flights, international flights and night flights accounted for 94.9% and 26.2, respectively. Night flights were conducted at least four times per month. Moreover, based on the virtual computer program CARI-6M, the estimated dose of cosmic radiation exposure was 78.81 mSv. There were no other personal triggers or family history of breast cancer. Conclusions: This case report shows that the potentially causal relationship between occupational harmful factors and the incidence of breast cancer may become more pronounced when night shift workers who work continuously are exposed to cosmic ionizing radiation. Therefore, close attention and efforts are needed to adjust night shift work schedules and regulate cosmic ionizing radiation exposure.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.309-320
• /
• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify relationships among circadian types, sleep quality, and adaptation to night shifts among nurses working on two or three day night duties. Methods: The participants were 199 ward nurses from two university hospitals in Gyeongnam province. Each nurse worked on two or three day night duties. Data were collected between September 24 and October 14, 2012 and analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, $Scheff{\grave{e}}$ test, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 14.0 program. Results: Mean scores for sleep quality and adaptation to night shifts was $4.92{\pm}1.46$ on a 10-point scale and $2.66{\pm}0.47$ on a 5-point scale respectively. There were no significant differences in sleep quality and adaptation to night shifts according to circadian types of nurses. There were significant correlation between sleep quality and adaptation to night shifts (r=.25, p<.001). Factors affecting adaptation to night shifts were preference for night shifts, and subjective health status, which together explained about 35% of the total variance. Conclusions: Nurses working on two or three day night duties had low level of sleep quality and adaptation to night shifts. It is necessary to improve preference for night shifts and subjective health status for improving adaptation to night shifts of nurse.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.139-150
• /
• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to identify changes in sleep patterns and fatigue levels during consecutive night shifts among shift nurses and to determine the association between sleep parameters and increased fatigue levels during work. Methods: This prospective observational study employing ecological momentary assessments was conducted using data collected from 98 shift nurses working in Korean hospitals between June 2019 and February 2021. The sleep patterns were recorded using actigraphy. The participants reported their fatigue levels at the beginning and end of each night shift in real time via a mobile link. Linear mixed models were used for the analysis. Results: Nurses spent significantly less time in bed and had shorter sleep durations during consecutive night shifts than on off-duty days, whereas their wake times after sleep onset were much longer on off-duty days than on on-duty days. Fatigue levels were higher on the second and third night-shift days than on the first night-shift days. A shorter time spent in bed and asleep was associated with a greater increase in fatigue levels at the end of the shift than at the beginning. Conclusion: Nurses experience significant sleep deprivation during consecutive night shifts compared with off-duty days, and this sleep shortage is associated with a considerable increase in fatigue levels at the end of shifts. Nurse managers and administrators must ensure sufficient intershift recovery time during consecutive night shifts to increase the time spent in bed and sleeping.