An industry case study of 'stand-up' and 'sleepover' night shifts in disability support: Residential support worker perspectives. (January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dorrian, Jillian; Grant, Crystal; Banks, Siobhan
• Is Part Of: Applied ergonomics. Volume 58(2016)
• Page Start: 110
• Page End: 118
• Publication Date: 2017-01
• Subjects: Residential support -- Disability -- Aged care -- Sleep -- Burnout; Human engineering -- Periodicals; 620.82
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.05.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-6870

Abstract

Abstract: Purpose: Residential support workers (RSW) engage in overnight "sleepover" shifts as well as more traditional "standup" night shifts. While research has investigated the consequences of night and on-call work for sleep in other industries, the sleep of RSW has not been evaluated. Method: In a single-provider case study, six employees completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), a 2-week sleep diary, and a 30 min interview, and four also completed the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM). Results: Participants reported sleep of poor quality, low-mild DASS scores, and evidence of SMBM scores that were elevated relative to norms. Sleep was significantly lower (p < 0.01) following "standup" shifts (mean = 4.1, SD = 1.8 h) and during "sleepover" shifts (mean = 5.6, SD = 2.0 h) compared to non-shift nights (mean = 7.3, SD = 2.3 h). Interviews suggested that sleep fluctuates with level of patient care, colleague assistance, stress, and the quality of the sleeping environment (including bed comfort, light, noise and perceived safety). Conclusions: Findings suggest that this group have sleep that is insufficient and of poor quality and that they may be at risk of burnout. Consideration of ways to optimise sleeping conditions at work (e.g. through noise or stress reduction) would be beneficial. Research in this area has the potential to facilitate improvements in health and safety in this growing industry. Highlights: Residential support workers on sleepover or traditional night shifts are likely to be sleep-deprived and at risk of burnout, which has potential patient-care implications. Following traditional night shifts, workers only achieve approximately 4 h of sleep. On sleepover shifts, staff sleep depends on level of patient care, stress levels, the amount of help from colleagues and the quality of the sleeping environment. Consideration of ways to optimise sleeping conditions at work, such as improving bed and pillow quality and noise, light and stress reduction, is required. Further investigation into and dissemination of the strategies used by residential support workers to reduce fatigue-related risk (i.e. fatigue-proofing), would be beneficial.