The Importance of Wellness In the Workplace

For those of you who follow the INQRI blog, you may be familiar with our coverage of issues addressing the health of the nursing workforce. Earlier this summer, a group of health care, human service, and education providers in Northeast Ohio created an innovative nursing initiative, which is currently undergoing rigorous external evaluation, to support health, satisfaction and the quality of care delivered by front-line nurses. Pamela A. Maidens, MA, CPM wrote a fantastic summary of how this initiative came about, why it is important, in addition to describing how the educational program works.

To read more about this wellness initiative, click here.

Massachusetts' Governor Signs Bill Banning Mandatory Overtime

Earlier this week, Governor Deval Patrick's signed new health care cost containment legislation that included a ban on mandatory overtime at acute care hospitals. Since the Institute of Medicine's focus on preventable deaths related to mandatory overtime on patient care in their 2004 report: "Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses", many states have enacted similar legislation to ban the practice of mandatory overtime.

To read more about the passage of this integral piece of patient safety legislation, click here.

Nurses' Adverse Work Schedules Linked to Obesity

A recently published study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that nurses who work long hours, have a high work burden, are required to be on-call/ utilize overtime, and/or lack of rest are more prone to risk factors associated with obesity. The research team associated 'adverse work schedules' with less restful sleep, and less exercise, thus increasing the likilihood of obesity among nurses working these type of schedules.

To read more about the research, click here.

To read the research publication, click here (subscription required).

New Coverage on INQRI Study re: Nurse Depression

INQRI grantees, Susan Letvak, Christopher Ruhm, and their team are receiving a lot of attention for a new article they published recently in Clinical Nurse Specialist which focused on depression among nurses in hospitals.

Check out their recent clips:

• 1 in 5 Nurses is Depressed - Health Leaders Media
• Why So Gloomy?  Nurses Twice as Depressed as the General Public - Nurse Zone
• Study Looks at High Rate of Depression Among Nurses - Cleveland Plain Dealer

Learn more about their INQRI study, "The Effects of Nurse Presenteeism on Quality of Care and Patient Safety."

Depression in Hospital-Employed Nurses Is Double The National Average

An INQRI supported study, published in the May/June edition of Clinical Nurse Specialist and led by INQRI grantees Susan Letvak, PhD, RN and Christopher Ruhm, PhD, has found that hospital-employed nurses demonstrated a depressive symptom rate of 18%, double that of the national average (9%). The authors of this study also expressed their concern with depression among nurses as it may result in difficult with concentration and limiting nurses ability to perform mental and interpersonal tasks to the best of their ability. Thus, depression could be linked to not only lower total work output, but negative patient outcomes.

You can access the abstract (free) and the full-text (subscription required) of this study, here.

Study Finds Linkage 55 Percent of Nurses Are Overweight or Obese

Yesterday, Olivia Katrandjian, reporting for ABC News, shared the results of a recently published study that found 55% of nurses are overweight or obese. The study found that nursing schedules affected not only the health, in regards to the body mass index (BMI) of the nurses, but the quality of care they delivered to patients.While this study was published in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration, it is now receiving press coverage around the country. This study also builds off of previous findings that found working long shifts and having too little time off were most often related to the death of patients.

Click here to read the news article.

Click here to read the study as published in JoNA.