Nutritional behavior in shift work in health and social services
- 28.11.2024
- English Articles
- Elina Hemling
- Sandra Pahr-Hosbach
Peer reviewed / Manuscript (original) submitted: 11 Dezember 2023; revision accepted: 11 March 2024
Challenges, risks and solutions
Introduction
In 2019, 16% of German employees worked in shifts [1]. Due to demographic change, the number of shift workers is expected to increase, especially in the healthcare sector [2]. A long-term disruption of the circadian rhythm is known as chronodisruption, which is associated with health risks [3]. Therefore, shift workers have an increased risk of diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome [4, 5]. Dietary behavior is considered to be an important factor, especially for the development of diet-related diseases. However, changes in working hours make it a major challenge to ensure a regular and healthy diet. • Figure 1 shows the multidimensional effects of shift work.
Although the potential of health-promoting dietary behavior in shift work has been known for decades, there have been only a few studies in the health and social care system. The aim of the study is to identify problem fields and necessary interventions based on the data collected. Moreover, recommendations for health-promoting management and for shift-specific dietary recommendations should be developed. ...
Abstract
The rotation between morning, evening and night shifts leads to a disruption of the circadian rhythm, which is associated with health risks for shift workers. Health-promoting eating habits among shift workers can have a preventive effect on the development of diet-related diseases. In semi-structured interviews, seven female shift workers in the health and social care system were asked about their nutritional and health behavior. The results show that working in rotating shifts can lead to an irregular meal structure and unhealthy snacking behavior. Based on the results, recommendations were developed for health-promoting operational management and for shift-specific dietary recommendation.
