A Systems Approach to Understanding Drowsy Driving among Night-Shift Nurses

Abstract

Drowsy driving is a major safety concern that has resulted in many deaths and injuries over the years. One population that is particularly susceptible to drowsy driving is night-shift nurses due to their extended hours of work and wakefulness and the physicality of their work. There have been several efforts evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in increasing their safety on the road. However, these interventions do not consider the holistic experience of night-shift nurses: their pre-existing relationship and experiences with drowsy driving; the on-road factors that contribute to drowsy driving and safety events; and the preferences for an intervention. To address these gaps, this work took a mixed-method approach. This work illustrated the following: drowsy driving begins at the start of the post-work commute, is perpetuated by ineffective countermeasure use, is impacted by complex work and family factors, and is a socially shared experience among nurses; the occurrence of near-crashes on the drive is often preceded by other near-crashes and increase as time on road increases; an in-vehicle detection device and drowsy driving education program increases focus on the road, wakes up drivers and increases the use of interactive countermeasures.