Work-Related Fatigue Factors among Hospital Nurses: An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Due to the demanding nature of nurses’ work and the current shortage of nurses, hospital nurses often find themselves working extra shifts, extended hours, and taking on more responsibilities. However, this added pressure on the body and mind results in fatigue which adversely affects nurses' health status as well as their ability to provide optimal health care procedures. Preventing fatigue and reducing its adverse consequences requires comprehensive awareness about its diverse contributing factors.Purpose: Examine factors that influence fatigue among nurses employed in a hospital setting.Methods: An integrative review to assess the quality of the research evidence, to find minor and major gaps in current research and the main issues in the area of the research and finally to bridge the research gaps. This integrative review identified a total of 12 relevant research studies from Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and a manual search were used in this review. Data were reviewed in May 2017, using an integrative review then interpreted, analyzed and synthesized to identify key contributing factors that influence fatigue among hospital nurses.Results: The 12 studies in this review revealed that significant factors such as organizational factors, nursing work characteristics, psychosocial factors as well as individual characteristics and demand influence nurse fatigue. Work shifts, specifically night- shifts and extended work shifts without sufficient inter-shift recovery were linked to higher levels of fatigue.Conclusion: This review identified the significant associations between work schedules, work environments, demographics and fatigue among nurses in hospital settings located in various countries all around the world.Impact: Increased physical and psychological job demands combined with the lack of social support at work leads to a heightened degree of job dissatisfaction, which results in acute and chronic fatigue. Findings from this study may help healthcare organizations and policymaker to introduce strategies that mitigate fatigue among nurses in hospital settings.