Are long nursing shifts on hospital wards associated with sickness absence? A longitudinal retrospective observational study

Objective To investigate whether working 12 hr shifts is associated with increased sickness absence among registered nurses and health care assistants. Background Previous studies reported negative impacts on nurses’ 12 hr shifts; however, these studies used cross-sectional techniques and subjective nurse-reported data. Methods A retrospective longitudinal study using routinely collected data across 32 general inpatient wards at an acute...