Differences in the mental health between morning and night shift guards at Kasr Alainy hospital

Mohamed, Hend Samy Ibrahim; Elsebaie, Eman Hany; Abdallah, Ahmed Mohamed Fathy; Lafi, Tamara Mohammad Ali; Issa, Omar Ahmed Hamdi; Ghaleb, Basma Hussein Mourad

doi:10.21608/ejcm.2025.367830.1382

Differences in the mental health between morning and night shift guards at Kasr Alainy hospital

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

² Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

³ Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/ejcm.2025.367830.1382

Abstract

Introduction: Security guards at hospitals face significant disruptions to their circadian rhythms during night shifts, impacting their mental, physical, and social well-being. The objective was to assess mental health, workload, sleep quality, and social lives of guards across shift. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Kasr Alainy Hospital between March and September 2024. Security guards across different departments without pre-existing mental health conditions were included. The study utilized the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) for mental health assessment, NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) for workload evaluation, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality analysis, Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) for quantifying insomnia, and Social Wellbeing Adapted Questionnaire for assessing social engagement. Results: A total of 210 male security guards (105 night and 105 morning ones) were included. The mean age was 33.5±5.3 and 34.1±4.5, respectively. Night shift guards had higher mean scores in somatic symptoms (5.1 vs. 3.5), anxiety (5.8 vs. 3.0), social dysfunction (6.1 vs. 4.0), and severe depression (5.6 vs. 3.5) compared to their morning shift counterparts (all p<0.01) They had higher mean scores for sleep quality (14.6 vs. 10.5) and insomnia (15.9 vs. 13.3) compared to morning shift guards (both p<0.01). They also reported a significantly higher workload and greater difficulty maintaining social connections (p<0.01). Conclusion: Night shift guards at higher risk of poor mental health, poor sleep quality, and higher workload. These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions to support the well-being of night shift workers, promoting both employee health and overall workplace productivity.

Keywords

Main Subjects