ABSTRACT
AIM: Workloads and other job demands jeopardize nurses' well-being, especially during evening shifts when there are less resources than during the day. The current study aims to shed light on how the addition of a nurse assistant to ward staffing during evening shifts has an impact on nurses' perceptions of job demands, job resources, and well-being. DESIGN: We performed a pre-post pilot study, whereby we compared nurses' perceptions of job demands, job resources, and well-being before and after the addition of a nurse assistant to ward staffing during evening shifts. METHODS: All nurses at the ward of a top-clinical hospital (N = 28) completed a baseline and follow-up survey including validated measures on job demands (workload and physical demands), job resources (autonomy and task clarity), and well-being (recovery from work and sleep problems). RESULTS: Compared with baseline, nurses reported fewer job demands (lower workloads and fewer physical demands) and sleep problems at follow-up. No statistically significant changes in job resources (autonomy and task clarity) and recovery difficulties were found. CONCLUSIONS: We found preliminary evidence that the addition of a nurse assistant during evening shifts could reduce workloads, physical demands, and sleep problems among nurses. IMPACT: This study highlighted that heavy job demands and sleep problems associated with evening shifts may be addressed by adding a nurse assistant to the nursing team. Future studies with larger samples and a control group are needed to provide better estimates of the magnitude of the beneficial effects and of the cost-effectiveness of an intervention of this kind.
