Acute and chronic fatigue in nurses providing direct patient care and in non-direct care roles: A cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

Nurses are at risk for work-related fatigue, which can impact their health, well-being, and job readiness. The purpose of this study was to examine the levels, types, and factors associated with fatigue in registered nurses (RNs) in direct patient care (DCRNs) and in non-direct patient care (non-DCRNs) roles. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 313 RNs. Measures included: Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory, Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery, Brief COPE, PROMIS® Global Sleep Disturbance, and Job Content Questionnaire. Acute fatigue levels in RNs were similar to those in diseased populations, and nearly 50% reported moderate/high levels of chronic fatigue. DCRNs reported higher levels of acute and chronic fatigue than non-DCRNs, but the differences were small and disappeared when accounting for other factors associated with fatigue including sleep disturbance, job strain, workplace support, maladaptive coping, and especially intershift recovery, which accounted for 20%-41% of fatigue variability. This study suggests that it may not be only nurses providing direct patient care who are at risk for acute and chronic fatigue. Intershift recovery may be particularly important in alleviating acute and chronic fatigue in nurses.

Keywords: coping; fatigue; nurses; recovery; safety; sleep; workplace.