Dataset Information

Perceived stigma, substance use and self-medication in night-shift healthcare workers: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many risk factors related to altered circadian rhythms impact the health of night-shift hospital workers (NSHW), resulting in mental and somatic disorders. Easy access to psychoactive substances (PS) may facilitate addictive behaviors in NSHW. They are also exposed to a stressful work environment, which may further affect sleep quality. This study aimed to explore the link between sleep deprivation, work-related psychosocial stress and psychoactive substance use as a self-medication response in NSHW.

Methods

Qualitative study to verify the plausibility of the self-medication theory applied to addictive behaviors. Semi-structured interviews (N = 18 NSHW) and thematic analysis, following consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research recommendations.

Results

Stigma against NSHW was a primary element of a stressful work environment. The stressful and stigmatizing environment, together with night-shift work, further affected NSHW sleep and their mental and physical health. The use of PS appeared to be for self-medication, encouraged by social and professional environments, source(s) of stress, discrimination, and isolation. The work environment, through aggravated sleep disorders, led NSHW to use non-prescribed sleeping pills. Alcohol after work and smoking were used as a social break but also as a means to reduce stress.

Conclusion

Anti-stigma interventions in the healthcare setting and screening of mental/somatic disorders in NSHW can help reduce harmful self-medication behaviors and improve hospital care in the COVID-19 era.

SUBMITTER: Cousin L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9128768 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Perceived stigma, substance use and self-medication in night-shift healthcare workers: a qualitative study.

Cousin Lorraine L Roucoux Guillaume G Petit Anne Sophie AS Baumann-Coblentz Laurence L Torrente Olivia Rousset OR Cannafarina Adriano A Chassany Olivier O Duracinsky Martin M Carrieri Patrizia P

BMC health services research 20220524 1

<h4>Background</h4>Many risk factors related to altered circadian rhythms impact the health of night-shift hospital workers (NSHW), resulting in mental and somatic disorders. Easy access to psychoactive substances (PS) may facilitate addictive behaviors in NSHW. They are also exposed to a stressful work environment, which may further affect sleep quality. This study aimed to explore the link between sleep deprivation, work-related psychosocial stress and psychoactive substance use as a self-medi ...[more]

PMID: 35610623

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Project description:BackgroundPeople with substance use disorders (SUD) including patients in opioid substitution treatment (OST) are subject to stigma, and have generally poor health and barriers towards seeking healthcare. Experience of stigma might negatively affect healthcare seeking, but this topic is sparsely investigated. The aim of this study was to explore OST patients' past and present experiences of substance use stigma in healthcare settings, in order to provide insight into the challenges that people with opioid use disorder may face when using health services, and the strategies they use to cope with them.MethodsSix focus groups with 23 OST patients were moderated by OST staff, and conducted with a questioning route focusing on health literacy. Experiences associated with stigma and its consequences that were spontaneously brought up by participants were assessed in a secondary analysis using a thematic approach.ResultsExperiences of stigma from a wide range of healthcare settings were reported. Medical records and patients' oral information regarding substance use, OST medication or hepatitis C infection were identified as circumstances bringing unwanted attention to the SUD. Participants reported various forms of poor treatment, believed to reflect views of people with SUD as morally culpable, intimidating, curious, untrustworthy and less valuable than other patients, sometimes with tangible effects on the quality of healthcare. Stigma in healthcare settings affected healthcare seeking behaviors, and could result in patients concealing their OST status or substance use history.ConclusionThis study highlights several aspects of perceived healthcare stigma that can shed light on difficulties that OST patients might experience when navigating the healthcare system. The results implicate a need to investigate attitudes towards OST patients, and the aptitude to deal with patients with SUD, among healthcare professionals, as well as a need for interventions addressing knowledge deficits and issues tied to values and patient reception among healthcare staff.

Project description:BackgroundWe compared psychomotor vigilance in female shift workers of the Bergmannsheil University Hospital in Bochum, Germany (N = 74, 94% nurses) after day and night shifts.MethodsParticipants performed a 3-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) test bout at the end of two consecutive day and three consecutive night shifts, respectively. Psychomotor vigilance was analyzed with respect to mean reaction time, percentage of lapses and false starts, and throughput as an overall performance score, combining reaction time and error frequencies. We also determined the reaction time coefficient of variation (RTCV) to assess relative reaction time variability after day and night shifts. Further, we examined the influence of shift type (night vs. day) by mixed linear models with associated 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusted for age, chronotype, study day, season, and the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).ResultsAt the end of a night shift, reaction times were increased (β = 7.64; 95% CI 0.94; 14.35) and the number of lapses higher compared to day shifts (exp(β) = 1.55; 95% CI 1.16-2.08). By contrast, we did not observe differences in the number of false starts between day and night shifts. Throughput was reduced after night shifts (β = -15.52; 95% CI -27.49; -3.46). Reaction times improved across consecutive day and night shifts, whereas the frequency of lapses decreased after the third night. RTCV remained unaffected by both, night shifts and consecutive shift blocks.DiscussionOur results add to the growing body of literature demonstrating that night-shift work is associated with decreased psychomotor vigilance. As the analysis of RTCV suggests, performance deficits may selectively be driven by few slow reactions at the lower end of the reaction time distribution function. Comparing intra-individual PVT-performances over three consecutive night and two consecutive day shifts, we observed performance improvements after the third night shift. Although a training effect cannot be ruled out, this finding may suggest better adaptation to the night schedule if avoiding fast-changing shift schedules.

Dataset Information

Perceived stigma, substance use and self-medication in night-shift healthcare workers: a qualitative study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Perceived stigma, substance use and self-medication in night-shift healthcare workers: a qualitative study.

Similar Datasets

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