The influence of shift-work on perceived stress, sleep quality, and body mass index among emergency nurses

Shift-work leads to many negative health outcomes among nurses, including overweight/obesity, high stress level, and sleep disturbances. This study purposed to evaluate the influence of shift-work on perceived stress, sleep quality, and Body Mass Index (BMI) among emergency department (ED) nurses in Jordan. A descriptive correlational design was employed. A structured self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data from emergency nurses in government and private hospitals. A total of 450 emergency nurses responded to the questionnaire. Findings found that around 81.1% and 14.0% of the study participants endorsed moderate and high levels of stress, respectively. The majority of the participants (94.5%) had poor sleep quality; 35.3% had overweight and 18.7% had obesity. The study findings indicated that shift-work influenced on perceived stress (β = 0.18, p <.001) and BMI (β = 0.15, p <.001). The mixed shift-workers had lower perceived stress and higher BMI than their counterparts who were doing other shift-work categories. Hence, shift-work had a negative influence on the levels of perceived stress and BMI. Hence, this influence should be taken into consideration when planning interventions and strategies to minimize the negative effects of shift-work.