Objectives
The aim was to identify work factors that predict poor sleep in nurses’ aides (assistant nurses).
Methods
The study was based on a randomly selected, nationwide sample of Norwegian nurses’ aides. Of 5,513 nurses’ aides, not on leave when they completed a mailed questionnaire in 1999, 4,771 (86.5 %) completed a second questionnaire 3 months later. A wide spectrum of work factors was assessed at baseline by questions from the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social factors at Work. Subjective sleep quality during the previous 3 months was measured at baseline and follow-up by a question from the Basic Nordic Sleep Questionnaire. Poor sleep was defined as the subjective experience of not sleeping well.
Results
Medium and high demands, high demand-control ratio, frequent exposure to role conflicts, and frequent exposure to threats and violence at work were associated with increased odds of poor sleep during the successive 3 months, after adjustments for sleep quality during the 3 months before baseline, other work factors, and background factors. High support from immediate superior, frequent rewards for well-done work, and high control of decisions that influence own work situation were associated with or tended to be associated with reduced odds of poor sleep.
Conclusion<br [...]