Night Shift And Its Impact Upon The Quality Of Life Of Nurses And Midwives

1.1 Background Of The Study
Health service is one of the industries that provide a continuous service around the clock, for the benefit of all citizens in any country. Health service personnel is responsible for provision of health care through application of medical science knowledge, skill and expertise in meeting the health needs of all people within each country. It is therefore, expected that a healthy and psychologically balanced workforce provides health care. Nigeria nurses provide health services in hospitals, clinics, and other health centres in meeting health needs of people.
Shift-work is a reality for about 25% of North America working population. In Sweden 8% have fixed hours outside the normal range, and 27% have irregular working hours, 4% work on shift schedules. The proportion of all workers who work night shift or irregular working hours mainly scheduled at night has more than doubled over the past 15 years. In several countries, a 12-hour shift system has been introduced and new provisions have been adopted. The changes were based on legislation and collective bargaining. A trend towards longer shifts of 12 hours has also been adopted by these countries (Åkerstedt, 1996).
Shift work generally is defined as work hours that are scheduled outside of daylight. Hanna,(2008)The change in shift work and different periods leads to a strike between the biological clock relationship of the human body and the environment surrounding it, and this is due to sleep disturbances, increased accidents, injuries and social isolation, Hanna,(2008) and sleep throughout the day is sometimes difficult to achieve because as soon as wake up the nurse tends to their family commitments and continues until the next shift, which affects her health status. (Blachowicz 2006). There is good evidence that shift work has negative effects on workers’ health, safety and performance. It is quite appropriate that attention is paid to this very important feature of socio-technical systems, which may adversely affect mental and physical health, social life and safety of shift workers (Hanna 2008).Sleep is a basic human need related to both circadian rhythms and homeostatic mechanisms of the body. Night shift term is defined as work performed after 6pm and before 6am the next day (Abdalkader & Hayajneh 2008).
Health care providers are bound to work shift-work as a health need for a number of people in all countries. Nurses as health care providers are obliged to work during the day and during the night to cater for the needs of the sick people. This can only be possible if nurses work during the 24 hours of the day. For most nurses changes that are inherent to night shift are unwelcome imposition on a normal life, yet one they have no control over. Night shift has physical, psychological and social effects on the life of an individual including nurses. The long hours that they work interfere with their health and their safety is compromised. Night work can even be worse for female nurses who also have family responsibilities such as pregnancy and child rearing. Studies have shown that shift-work can have negative impact on job performance, sleep, physical and emotional health, social life, family life, drug use and level of job-related stress. For nurses these negative effects have consequences not just for the individual, but also for the workplace, as decreased alertness and reduced job performance could endanger human lives (BrownDeGagne & Eskes, 1998).

1.2 statement of the problem
An abundance of research has been conducted to identify health risks associated with shift work stress in various occupations. However, research has only recently begun studying the risks and effects of nursing shift work (“Shift Work Stress,” 1996). Shift work is extremely prevalent in the field of nursing and may have been overlooked thus far as a result of the societal expectation and perception of nursing shift work as the norm. Previous studies have implicated shift work as a noteworthy source of stress for nurses. In addition, researchers have identified that up to a 3% chance in medical error can result from the stress associated with shift work (Parikh et al., 2010; Rogers, 2008).
Nurses involved in shift work who are at risk for decreased health and poor job performance resulting from stress need to be identified before changes can be made to reduce their stress and improve patient safety. The development of a cost-effective, easyto-use tool for detection of chronic stress accumulation in individual nurses would allow for recognition of potential harm to the nurse and the patients they encounter. It is important to identify such a tool for the evaluation of future stress prevention interventions prior to initiating those interventions. Furthermore, documentation of adverse health effects affiliated with nursing shift work may prompt the individual, and employers, to take actions directed at preventing negative health effects.

1.3 Objectives of the Study
Although, the primary objectives of the study is evaluate night shift and it’s impact upon the quality of life of nurses in Imo State teaching hospital Orlu. Other specific objectives are:
1. Determine the impact of night shift on the physical and mental health of nurses.
2. Determine whether night shift generates higier level of stress and fatigue thereby affecting nurses’ quality of life.
3. Determine whether night shift affects the quality of family relationship of nurses.
4. Determine whether night shift affects the social life of nurses.

1.4 Research Questions
i. What is the impact of night shift on the physical and mental health of nurses?
ii. Does night shift generates higher level of stress and fatigue thereby affecting nurses’ quality of life?
iii. Does night shift affects the quality of family relationship of nurses?
iv. Does night shift affects the social life of nurses?

1.5 Research Hypotheses
Ho: Night shift has no negative impact on the quality of life of nurses in Imo State teaching hospital Orlu.
Ha: Night shift and has a positive impact on the quality of life of nurses in Imo State teaching hospital Orlu.

1.6 Significance of Study
The focus of this study is directed towards consideration of human factors in the design of night shift schedules for the nurses. Therefore adequate justification to study night shift and it’s impact upon the quality of life of nurses in Imo State teaching hospital Orlu. Such study will help the nurses to identify the impact of night shift on the quality of life. Therefore, the study will be ergonomically designed shift schedules which will assist in the reduction of physiological and psychosocial hazards in the workplace.

1.7 Scope of the Study
The research which examines night shift and it’s impact upon the quality of life of nurses in Imo State teaching hospital Orlu. Hence, the study will delimited to nurses in Imo State teaching hospital Orlu.

1.8 Limitations of the Study
This research project, like all human endeavors, had some challenges that threatened to derail the study’s completion. One of the reasons is that the time allotted for this work was so limited that the researcher did not have enough time to complete the task thoroughly. During data collection, the researcher also had to put forth extra effort to understand the respondents’ interview schedules, several of whom fell into the incomprehensible age group. Also, there were financial and transportation constraints to deal with. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, interview).

1.9 Definition of Terms
Shift: refers to hours of the day in which a worker or a group of workers is scheduled to be in the workplace (Kogi, 2001).
Shift work: refers shift work as working other than daytime hours,
Night work: night work means work performed after 18:00 and before 06:00 the next day.

1.10 Organization Of The Studies
The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study, sample size determination, sample size, and selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter(chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.