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Shiftwork and occupational injury rates: Nursing staff in an Australian hospital
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Shiftwork and occupational injury rates: Nursing staff in an Australian hospital

L M Hardman, V L Wise and Ken Greenwood
Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New Zealand, Vol.7(6), pp.483-488
1991
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http://www.wolterskluwer.cch.com.au/employment-whs/journalhseView
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Abstract

adult article Australia circadian rhythm controlled study hospital personnel human injury needlestick injury night work nurse occupational accident shift worker
An audit was conducted of 109 occupational injury/incident reports submitted by nurses over 10 months at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria. Accident/injury rates were found to be higher during the day than the afternoon and night shifts, but did not differ significantly between the shifts when the rates were adjusted for the number of staff working on the shifts. Nor did the rates differ depending on the work schedule of the nurse. Accident/injury rates were found to be significantly higher during the first few days of a consecutive period of shifts and in workers who worked fewer days per fortnight. These results suggest that fatigue and sleep debt increasing over a series of shifts is not a major cause of accidents/injuries but that there may be some cost of re-familiarisation to the ward which places nurses at increased risk after a period of absence.

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