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Shiftwork practise in British Columbia
RS2000/01-012
Final Report Date: July 2004
| Principal Investigator: | Ralph Mistlberger, Simon Fraser University |
Study 1: Survey of shiftwork
practice in B.C.
Study 2: Seasonal differences in shiftwork adaptation
For more information about these studies, please contact Dr. Ralph Mistlberger.
Study 1: Survey of shiftwork practice in B.C.
Issue
Shiftwork presents special problems for the health and productivity of workers by creating a mismatch between the work schedule and the natural daily rhythms of sleep and wake and other body functions. Working shifts has well documented adverse consequences in the areas of safety, health and psychological well-being (e.g., cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders, depression and substance abuse), family life (divorce rates), and performance and productivity. Strategies are needed to reduce the impact of shiftwork on the individual.Key findings
- Shift systems and schedules varied widely, both within and across work sectors, in key parameters such as rotation rate, number of shifts, shift sequence, and shift start and end times.
- Professional shiftwork consultants were rarely involved in the design of these schedules (only 1.9% of the total).
- The vast majority (82%) of organizations provided no shiftwork education.
Objectives
- To assess whether shiftwork employers in British Columbia provide shiftwork education programs, and if so, the form and content of these programs.
Method
A survey was conducted of organizations from a variety of work sectors that commonly use shift schedules. Researchers collected descriptive data on worker demographics, shift schedule design, and education programs.Results
Completed surveys were obtained from 178 organizations sampled from a range of work sectors, including transportation, emergency services, health services, government, hospitality, manufacturing and food processing. These organizations utilized a total of 578 shift systems, of which 36% were regular rotating schedules (e.g., days, evenings, nights), 26% were irregular rotating schedules and 38% were permanent days, evenings or nights.There was considerable variability in the details of the schedules within these categories (e.g., rotation rate, number of shifts, shift sequence, shift start and end times). Professional shiftwork consultants were rarely involved in the design of these schedules (only 1.9% of cases).
Most (82%) of organizations provided no shiftwork education for their shift workers. Of the 32 organizations that did provide some shiftwork education, this:
- Usually was limited to either a single orientation session at hiring or occasional safety talks provided by a health and safety officer.
- Rarely involved a professional shiftwork consultant.
- Usually did not include written materials.
- Usually was not specifically tailored for the type of shift schedules employed at the organization.
- Usually did not specifically address chronobiological adaptation (i.e., the use of procedures to either shift or prevent shifting of the body clock to night work).
The vast majority of organizations also did not offer other programs or facilities to enhance shiftwork adaptation.
Conclusions
Shiftwork education is a relatively low-cost strategy for enhancing the health, well-being and productivity of shift workers, but appears to be greatly under-utilized.Future directions
There is a need for systematic intervention research on the efficacy of shiftwork education programs. The study yielded a database of organizations with known shift schedules that could be recruited to participate in future intervention research.Study 2: Seasonal differences in shiftwork adaptation
Issue
To prepare for future shiftwork intervention research in B.C., it is necessary to identify an appropriate tool for measuring shiftwork adaptation in B.C. and to assess whether there are seasonal variations in shiftwork tolerance, as measured by the Standardized Shiftwork Index (SSI).Key findings
- The study found shiftwork adaptation patterns to be largely consistent with those obtained in a larger British sample, suggesting the SSI would be suitable for shiftwork intervention research in B.C.
- Three outcome measures were found to be sensitive to time of year: sleep disturbances, psychological distress and depression, suggesting that shiftwork adaptation may be sensitive to seasonal variation.
Objectives
- To identify a standardized measurement tool that could be used in future studies to detect the impact of shiftwork education in B.C. workplaces.
- To assess whether outcome variables assessed by this questionnaire are sensitive to the time of year at which the questionnaire is administered.
Method
- A study was conducted with shiftworkers at the Vancouver International Airport Authority, involving grounds crew, operations and maintenance workers.
- The participants completed the SSI survey twice, near the summer and
winter solstices.
Results
The results overall were consistent with those obtained from larger samples from studies of UK industrial shift workers conducted by the developers of the SSI.Three outcome variables exhibited significant effects of season: sleep disturbances were higher in the summer, and psychological distress and depression were higher in the winter. Subjects that worked mostly day shifts did not show seasonal variations, which suggests that night work interacts with time of year to affect sleep and mood.
Conclusion
For at least some outcome variables, time of year is an important variable that must be considered in the design of future studies of shiftwork adaptation in B.C. Overall, the consistency of the results with prior work encourages the use of the SSI for future intervention research.Future directions
The SSI is appropriate for use in future research on shiftwork interventions in B.C.Seasonal variations in some shiftwork tolerance variables may suggest interventions for improving shiftwork tolerance that could be examined in future research.
Dr. Mistlberger is currently working on another WCB-funded research project to examine whether workplace training programs for shiftwork adaptation are effective and to determine whether a better tool for training can be developed.