The following is a summary of “Impact of shift work on pain recognition, a robust ability among intensive care nurses,” published in the July 2023 issue of Pain by Schmidt et al.
Pain empathy is essential for high-quality care but can be impaired by shift work.
Researchers performed a retrospective study to observe the early subliminal ability to detect pain in other faces and to investigate the impact of day and night shifts on pain intensity evaluations.
They enlisted 21 nurses (aged 31 ± 7 years, 20 women) working in cardiac-pediatric intensive care; 18 nurses completed assessments during morning and evening, before and after 12-hour day and night shifts. The first test addressed subliminal pain recognition via facial cues, while the following trial gauged conscious pain intensity using a numerical scale. Sleep, sleepiness, and empathy were all measured.
The results indicated consistent recognition accuracy and pain sensitivity over time, except for increased sensitivity post-shift (F(1,15) = 7.10, P=0.018). Intensity ratings remained steady. Notably, end-of-night shift sleepiness correlated negatively with accuracy (P=−0.51, P=0.018) and correlated positively with prior night shifts (P=−0.50, P= 0.022).
They concluded the ability to judge facial pain expressions is robust across shift types, but sleepiness can interfere.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.2150
