Affiliations: [a]
College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| [b]
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| [c]
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Beverly M. Hittle, University of Cincinnati, College of Nursing, 223 Procter Hall, 3110 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0038, USA. Tel.: +1 513 558 5500; E-mail: Beverly.Hittle@UC.edu.
Note: [1] References: We have had to use more than the stated number of references due to this being a secondary analysis of qualitative data. Therefore, references to the parent study needed to be included, along with references for the background information, study design, and two conceptual models to inform this unique study.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Despite the high risks associated with occupational fatigue in healthcare, few organizations require nurses to screen and report fatigue symptoms. As a result, little is known about if and how nurses would report fatigue while on the job. OBJECTIVE:To determine if hospital-based pediatric nurses reported fatigue as part of an active injury reporting method. METHODS:This secondary analysis of qualitative data used a descriptive design with content analysis. Data from the parent study were collected at a U.S. pediatric hospital where nurses verbally reported on-shift injuries or near misses and pre- and post-shift health status via a digital voice recorder. Researchers used content analysis to independently code data for nurses’ references to fatigue. Codes were then analyzed for patterns and themes. RESULTS:Approximately 30% (n = 104) of participants reported fatigue-related content. Emergent themes were Work Stressors, Individual Risk Factors, Fatigue Descriptors, Adverse Outcomes from Fatigue, Fatigue Buffers, Descriptors for Buffered Fatigue, and Favorable Outcomes from Buffered Fatigue. Fatigue descriptions align with prior literature, demonstrating the accuracy of the voice recorder data collection method. In addition, nurses expressed uncertainty about the appropriateness of reporting fatigue symptoms. CONCLUSION:Findings from this study support pediatric nurses will report fatigue, when provided an opportunity. Additional efforts are needed to better understand effective ways to improve fatigue reporting among nurses, including harnessing current technology for real-time reporting and how to change the culture around fatigue reporting.
