Observational studyJournal of nursing management2019
Are long nursing shifts on hospital wards associated with sickness absence? A longitudinal retrospective observational study.
Observational study in Journal of nursing management, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The consequences of a compressed workweek: a systematic literature review.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Nationwide Patterns and Predictors of Sick Leave Among Healthcare Workers in Kuwait, 2022.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Organizational and Musculoskeletal Factors of Job Satisfaction and Work Ability Among Critical Care Nurses: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing research and practice · 2026Article
- Nurse staffing configurations and sickness absence in English intensive care units: A longitudinal observational study.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- "I don't think there's necessarily a one size fits all" negotiating competing priorities in nurse shift scheduling: a qualitative study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Nurse Staffing Configurations and Nurse Absence Due to Sickness.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Predictors of nutritional health risks among midwives in the context of midwifery work.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Under pressure - Nursing staff's perspectives on working hours and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2024Article
- Concurrent Trajectories of Objectively Measured Insufficient Recovery and Workload Among a Cohort of Shift Working Hospital Employees: Quantitative Empirical Research.Nursing open · 2024Article
- Consecutive Shifts: A Repeated Measure Study to Evaluate Stress, Biomarkers, Social Support, and Fatigue in Medical/Surgical Nurses.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Consequences of Shift Work and Night Work: A Literature Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
- Factors related to career interruption and Re-employment of women in human health and social work activities sector: Comparison with other industry sectors.Nursing open · 2023Article
- Healthcare workers' mental health and perception towards vaccination during COVID-19 pandemic in a Pediatric Cancer Hospital.Scientific reports · 2023Observational
- Working Hours Associated with the Quality of Nursing Care, Missed Nursing Care, and Nursing Practice Environment in China: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of nursing management · 2023Article
- Nursing 12-Hour Shifts and Patient Incidents in Mental Health and Community Hospitals: A Longitudinal Study Using Routinely Collected Data.Journal of nursing management · 2023Article
- Exploring the Associations between Chronotype, Night Shift Work Schedule, Quality of Work Life, and Sleep Quality among Maternal and Child Health Nurses: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of nursing management · 2023Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate whether working 12 hr shifts is associated with increased sickness absence among registered nurses and health care assistants.
backgroundPrevious studies reported negative impacts on nurses' 12 hr shifts; however, these studies used cross-sectional techniques and subjective nurse-reported data.
methodsA retrospective longitudinal study using routinely collected data across 32 general inpatient wards at an acute hospital in England. We used generalized linear mixed models to explore the association between shift patterns and the subsequent occurrence of short (<7 days) or long-term (≥7 days) sickness absence.
resultsWe analysed 601,282 shifts and 8,090 distinct episodes of sickness absence. When more than 75% of shifts worked in the past 7 days were 12 hr in length, the odds of both a short-term (adjusted odds ratio = 1.28; 95% confidence index: 1.18-1.39) and long-term sickness episode (adjusted odds ratio = 1.22; 95% confidence index: 1.08-1.37) were increased compared with working none.
conclusionWorking long shifts on hospital wards is associated with a higher risk of sickness absence for registered nurses and health care assistants. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The higher sickness absence rates associated with long shifts could result in additional costs or loss of productivity for hospitals. The routine implementation of long shifts should be avoided.
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