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. 2010 Dec 8;5(12):e14265.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014265.

Declining sleep quality among nurses: a population-based four-year longitudinal study on the transition from nursing education to working life

Dan Hasson  1 , Petter Gustavsson
Affiliations

Declining sleep quality among nurses: a population-based four-year longitudinal study on the transition from nursing education to working life

Dan Hasson et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Several studies have established impaired sleep is a common problem among nurses. Overworked, fatigued and stressed nurses are at a higher risk of making mistakes that threaten patient safety as well as their own health. The aim of the present study was to longitudinally monitor the development of sleep quality in nurses, starting from the last semester at the university, with three subsequent annual follow-ups once the nurses had entered working life.

Methodology/principal findings: Nationwide, longitudinal questionnaire study of nursing students and newly qualified nurses in Sweden. The results imply a continuous decline in sleep quality among nurses during the three years of follow-up, starting from their last semester of nursing education and continuing for three years into their working life. The most pronounced short-term decline in sleep quality seems to occur in the transition between student life and working life.

Conclusion/significance: This finding is important since it may affect the quality of care and the health of nurses negatively.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors declare and confirm that the commercial funder AFA insurance did not alter their adherence to any of the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow of the participants and questionnaire distribution.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Percentage of respondents rating their sleep quality as pretty poor or poor.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Repeated measures ANOVA illustrating the deterioration in sleep quality mean values over time. (n = 846).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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