Objective@#To examine the
association of long working hours and shift
work with
occupational stress among
medical staff in level A
tertiary hospitals, so as to provide insights into promotion of physical and
mental health among medical
personnel. @*
Methods@#One level A
tertiary hospital was sampled using a stratified
cluster sampling method from southern and northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and all medical
personnel were recruited from these two
hospitals. Participants' demographics, working duration, and working in shifts were collected using
questionnaires, and
occupational stress was measured using the Core Scale for Measurement of
Occupational Stress proposed by National Institute for
Occupational Health and
Poison Control,
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The
associations of long working hours (weekly working duration of >40 hours) and shift
work with
occupational stress were examined using a multiple
linear regression model.@*Results@#A total of 2 529
questionnaires were allocated, and 2 262 were valid, with an effective rate of 89.44%. The
respondents had a mean age of (35.12±8.71) years, and included 1 696
women (74.98%). Of all
respondents, there were 722 doctors (31.92%), 1 033
nurses (45.67%), 361 medical or
pharmaceutical technicians (15.96%), 1 808 with long working hours (79.93%) and 1 264 with shift
work (55.88%). The score of
occupational stress was (44.79±8.49) points, and the
prevalence of
occupational stress was 28.69% among
respondents. Multiple
linear regression analysis showed that after
adjustment for age,
marital status, length of service, position,
smoking and
physical exercise, long working hours (>40 h, β'=0.124; >48 h, β'=0.175; ≥55 h, β'=0.323) and shift
work (β'=0.203) were influencing factors for
occupational stress among medical
personnel(P<0.05); however, there was no interaction between long working hours and shift
work (P>0.05). @*Conclusion@#Long working hours and shift
work may increase the
risk of
occupational stress among medical
personnel in level A
tertiary hospitals.