Impact of the Working Shift Organization on the Caregivers' Satisfaction and Quality of Life at Work, and the Performance of the Intensive Care Units.

The critical review of the scientific literature leads us to conclude that there are heterogeneous, and sometimes discordant, results about the impact of a 12-hours working shift organizations on caregivers, hospitals and unit operation, compared with less than 12-hours working shift organizations. This variety and ambiguity of the results could stem from lack of documentation and/or lack of quality of the studies' methodology, the choice of the outcomes, a too short time period for analysis after an organizational change.

In addition, the sociologist analysis is rarely developed. Finally, quite a few studies are declarative, therefore, whatsoever objective outcome is measured.

The determinants of the choice of working shift organization in health facilities are interlinked with multiple factors. Individual and economic factors are considered, as well as clinical risk management, continuity of care and continuity of public services. To the best of our knowledge, no study have evaluated the capacity to maintain a continuity of public health services using 12-hours working shift organization, in particular in French intensive care units subjected to a regulation on nursing and assistant nursing workforce per patient. Besides, there is no data about the impact of 12-hours working shift organization on the performance of intensive care units regarding clinical risk management.

Our hypothesis is that a 12-hours working shift organization may result in a more important number of hours during which the French standard ratio of 1 nurse for 2.5 patients is observed or during which the intensive care beds are not closed, compared with a less than 12-hours working shift organization, with similar caregivers quality of life and performance of intensive care units.

First month of the study: self-administered questionnaires used in order to evaluate nursing work environment (Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index PES-NWI), caregivers quality of life at work (Nottingham Health Profile NHP, Perceived Stress Scale PSS10 and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale HADS) caregivers satisfaction at work (Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire MSQ) and psychosocial and organisational work constraints (NWI-EO) will be completed by caregivers (doctors, nurses and assistant nurses).