Changes in Sleep and Perceived Health risk in early Career Paramedics

Shift work is associated with increased chronic disease risk and suboptimal health behaviours. However, our understanding of the impact of shift work on health behaviours is impacted by a lack of longitudinal studies that examine health behaviours in shift workers relative to behaviours prior to shift work commencement. To address this limitation, we examined sleep changes and perceived health risk (i.e., individual’s perception of risk to their health) in intern paramedics during the first 12 months of shift work.

The current study examined self-report sleep quality and duration in 21 interns (15 Female, 6 Male, aged 23.0 [20.0, 36.0]) from one Australian Ambulance service. Data were collected quarterly for a year (pre-shift work, and then 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post recruitment training).

Linear mixed models, controlling for chronotype and baseline perceived health risk, showed that the first 12 months of shift work were associated with a significant decline in sleep quality (p=0.021) but no change in sleep duration (p=0.76). Linear mixed models also showed that perceived health risk significantly increased (p=0.036). Substantial between-subjects differences were observed, highlighting individual differences in response to shift work onset on sleep and perceived health risk.

This study demonstrates that commencement of shift work is associated with a decline in sleep quality and increase in perceived health risk in early career paramedics. The considerable individual differences observed in this study highlight a need for larger studies with more participants, and a focus on personalised strategies for workers commencing shift work.