P072 Sleep, Shift work Patterns and Work-Related Accidents in Regional/Rural versus Metropolitan Healthcare Shift Workers.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep impairment can decline alertness and performance and increase the risk of occupational injuries such as medical errors, workplace injuries and car accidents. Australia has a shortage of healthcare shift workers, particularly in regional/rural areas. The consequence of this is that rural healthcare shift workers potentially have to work longer hours, be more on-call and/or have to commute longer distances to/from work. These factors could impact the worker's sleep and recovery. The aim was to explore the differences in sleep and shift work patterns in regional/rural and metropolitan healthcare shift workers and the risk of workplace accidents, medical error, and car accidents. METHOD: An anonymous online survey was distributed targeting nurses, midwives and paramedics. RESULTS: 403 healthcare shift workers completed the survey. Those in regional/rural locations were significantly older, had more experience, worked significantly more hours per week, more night shifts and on-call shifts in the previous two weeks. However, metropolitan shift workers took significantly longer (in minutes) to travel to work, reported more feelings of sleepiness while driving to/from work, having a car accident or near accident while commuting home, and having a workplace accident in the last 12 months. There was however no differences in sleep quality between the groups but poor sleep quality was the main contributing factor related to workplace incidents, medical errors and car accidents. CONCLUSION: There were differences in shift work patterns between metropolitan and regional/rural healthcare shift workers. More exploration is needed to understand the components that contribute to increased OH&S risks.