ReviewHuman resources for health2022
Because they're worth it? A discussion paper on the value of 12-h shifts for hospital nursing.
Review in Human resources for health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 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
- Balancing the rota: registered nurses' preferences for shift patterns - a discrete choice experiment.BMJ open · 2026Article
- The compressed workweek in public health and social care - is it sustainable?Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Article
- Examining the Influence of Shift Length on Nurse Fatigue, Patient Care, Quality of Life, and Work-Life Dynamics in a Tertiary Hospital in Oman: Comparative Study.Nursing research and practice · 2025Article
- Developing nurse and midwife centred rostering principles using co-design: a mixed-methods study.BMC nursing · 2024Article
- Current sleep interventions for shift workers: a mini review to shape a new preventative, multicomponent sleep management programme.Frontiers in sleep · 2024Review
- Citation Network Analysis of Nurse Staffing Research from the Past Two Decades: 2000-2022.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Construction of a competency index system for shift nurses in China: A Delphi study.Nursing open · 2023Review
- Consecutive Shifts: A Repeated Measure Study to Evaluate Stress, Biomarkers, Social Support, and Fatigue in Medical/Surgical Nurses.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Shift work characteristics and burnout among nurses: cross-sectional survey.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Work unit level personnel working hours and the patients' length of in-hospital stay-An administrative data approach.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- Factors Related to Nurse Satisfaction with Supervisor Leadership.International journal of environmental research and public health · 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
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The organisation of the 24-h day for hospital nurses in two 12-h shifts has been introduced with value propositions of reduced staffing costs, better quality of care, more efficient work organisation, and increased nurse recruitment and retention. While existing reviews consider the impact of 12-h shifts on nurses' wellbeing and performance, this discussion paper aims to specifically shed light on whether the current evidence supports the value propositions around 12-h shifts. We found little evidence of the value propositions being realised. Staffing costs are not reduced with 12-h shifts, and outcomes related to productivity and efficiency, including sickness absence and missed nursing care are negatively affected. Nurses working 12-h shifts do not perform more safely than their counterparts working shorter shifts, with evidence pointing to a likely negative effect on safe care due to increased fatigue and sleepiness. In addition, nurses working 12-h shifts may have access to fewer educational opportunities than nurses working shorter shifts. Despite some nurses preferring 12-h shifts, the literature does not indicate that this shift pattern leads to increased recruitment, with studies reporting that nurses working long shifts are more likely to express intention to leave their job. In conclusion, there is little if any support for the value propositions that were advanced when 12-h shifts were introduced. While 12-h shifts might be here to stay, it is important that the limitations, including reduced productivity and efficiency, are recognised and accepted by those in charge of implementing schedules for hospital nurses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.