Review and special article: Shifting Schedules The Health Effects of Reorganizing Shift Work

• Published in: American journal of preventive medicine 2008-05, Vol.34 (5), p.427-434
• Main Authors: Bambra, Clare L, Whitehead, Margaret M, Sowden, Amanda J, Akers, Joanne, Petticrew, Mark P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Health impact assessment; Health promotion; Interventions; Organizational adjustment; Shiftwork; Systematic reviews
• ISSN: 0749-3797
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2007.12.023

BackgroundApproximately one fifth of workers are engaged in some kind of shift work. The harmful effects of shift work on the health & work-life balance of employees are well known. A range of organizational interventions has been suggested to address these negative effects. MethodsThis study undertook the systematic review (following Quality Of Reporting Of Meta [QUORUM] analyses guidelines) of experimental & quasi-experimental studies, from any country (in any language) that evaluated the effects on health & work-life balance of organizational-level interventions that redesign shift work schedules. Twenty-seven electronic databases (medical, social science, economic) were searched. Data extraction & quality appraisal were carried out by two independent reviewers. Narrative synthesis was performed. The review was conducted between October 2005 & November 2006. ResultsTwenty-six studies were found relating to a variety of organizational interventions. No one type of intervention was found to be consistently harmful to workers. However, three types were found to have beneficial effects on health & work-life balance: (1) switching from slow to fast rotation, (2) changing from backward to forward rotation, & (3) self-scheduling of shifts. Improvements were usually at little or no direct organizational cost. However, there were concerns about the generalizability of the evidence, & no studies reported on impacts on health inequalities. Conclusions This review reinforces the findings of epidemiologic & laboratory-based research by suggesting that certain organizational-level interventions can improve the health of shift workers, their work-life balance, or both. This evidence could be useful when designing interventions to improve the experience of shift work. [Copyright 2008 American Journal of Preventive Medicine; published by Elsevier Inc.]