[Pain, analgesic intake and mental health of German intensive care unit nurses]. / Schmerzen, Schmerzmitteleinnahme und mentale Gesundheit von Intensivpflegenden in Deutschland.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Since nurses in general are frequently affected by pain and depressive episodes, the aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of pain, frequency of analgesic intake and the mental health of intensive care nurses. METHODS: This study was a survey study of German intensive care nurses and the questionnaire comprised self-developed items and the short version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). RESULTS: A total of 432 intensive care nurses (82.97% female) were included in the analysis. Recurrent pain was reported by 36.81% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 31.31%; 42.99%) of study participants and chronic pain by 18.52% (95% CI: 14.68%; 23.05%). Body weight (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.02 [95% CI: 1.01; 1.03]; p = 0.006) and sex (male AOR: 0.33 [95% CI: 0.14; 0.78]; p = 0.012) were significantly associated with chronic pain, and sex (male AOR: 0.59 [95% CI: 0.31; 1.00]; p = 0.049) and the presence of sleeping problems (AOR: 2.16 [95% CI: 1.41; 3.31]; p ≤ 0.001) with recurrent pain. Analgesics were used by 52.61% of study participants with chronic/recurrent pain (most frequently used substance: ibuprofen [81.67%]). Study participants with chronic and recurrent pain indicated significantly higher depression, anxiety and stress levels compared to those without pain. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that a large number of participating intensive care nurses are suffering from chronic and recurrent pain. Pain in this population was associated with a variety of factors.

[Prevalence of sleep disturbance in intensive care nurses: a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study]. / Häufigkeit von Schlafproblemen bei Intensivpflegenden: Eine Post-hoc-Analyse einer Querschnittstudie.

Background: Intensive care nurses have irregular and unusual working hours due to shift work, which can disrupt the natural light-dark rhythm and thus increase the risk for sleep disorders. Aim of the work: The aim of this post hoc analysis was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported sleep problems and associated factors among intensive care nurses working in Germany. Methods: This analysis was a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study, which was performed as an online survey. Collected data were sociodemographic, work-related and health-related data. These data were used to calculate the prevalence and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of sleep problems. Factors associated with sleep problems were identified using the χ2-test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression analysis. Results: The link to the online survey was accessed 1163 times and 490 intensive care nurses participated in the survey. A total of 432 intensive care nurses were included in this analysis, of whom 82.87% were women. A total of 57.64% (95% CI: 52.83-62.35%) reported sleep problems. Significantly associated with sleep problems were age (50-59 years odds ratio [OR]: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.00-4.21, p = 0.047 vs. 20-29 years) and living in a family (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.27-0.93, p = 0.029 vs. single/living alone). In addition, depression (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12, p ≤ 0.001), anxiety (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.06-1.14, p ≤ 0.001) and stress (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12, p ≤ 0.001) levels were significantly associated with sleep problems. Conclusion: Sleep problems were present in one out of every two participating intensive care nurses and in particular mental health was associated with sleep problems.