The Impact of Commutes, Work Schedules, and Sleep on Near-Crashes during Nurses' Post Shift-Work Commutes: A Naturalistic Driving Study. uri icon

abstract

  • OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSDriving and survey data were collected from nurses following the night-shift and analyzed with logistic regression and frequency analysis. The analyses showed that prior near-crashes and drive length contributed significantly to near-crashes. The frequency analysis showed that most near-crashes occurred on major roadways, including principal arterials, major collectors, and interstates, within the first 15 minutes of the drive. These results highlight the urgent need for countermeasures to prevent drowsy driving incidents among night-shift nurses. Specifically, nurses and hospital systems should focus on countermeasures that encourage taking a break on the post work commute and those that can intervene during the drive. This may include the use of educational programs to teach nurses the importance of adequate rest or taking a break to sleep during their drive home, or technology that can recognize drowsiness and alert nurses of their drowsiness levels, prompting them to take a break.

published proceedings

  • IISE Trans Occup Ergon Hum Factors

altmetric score

  • 5.7

author list (cited authors)

  • Smith, A., McDonald, A. D., & Sasangohar, F.

citation count

  • 3

complete list of authors

  • Smith, Alec||McDonald, Anthony D||Sasangohar, Farzan

publication date

  • January 2021