Perceptions of Sleep Quality, Fatigue, and Cognition Among Women Shift Workers

Objective: To explore the perceptions of sleep quality, levels of fatigue, and cognitive executive function in women shift workers. Design: Qualitative, descriptive study of a sample of participants who participated in a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study. Setting: Online focus groups. Participants: Women shift workers (N 1 / 4 14) recruited from the southeastern United States. Methods: Four focus groups were conducted using the Zoom online videoconferencing platform. Transcripts were coded inductively, and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: Five major themes were developed from the data: Lots of Sleep Lost, Day Sleep Difficulties, Negative Consequences, Missing Out, and Not in My Own Thoughts. Conclusion: Shift work is associated with sleep loss, which has a negative impact on women's emotional, mental, and physical health. Further nursing science investigation into strategies to enable women to improve their sleep quality, sleep quantity, and social/domestic environment is warranted. Education to increase sleep knowledge and decrease accidents and errors that can result from insufficient sleep is vital.