Appleton Institute, CQUniversity, Wayville, South Australia, Australia.
Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (Sleep Health), College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia.
PLoS One. 2022 Dec 1;17(12):e0273113. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273113. eCollection 2022.
Paramedics are routinely exposed to shift work. Existing research shows that shift work exposure is associated with adverse mental and physical health outcomes. However, the current understanding of the impact of commencing shift work in a paramedic role on health is limited. This can be addressed by recruiting new paramedics before they commence shift work, and conducting regular follow-ups of potential biological, psychological and social changes. The present study aimed to examine changes in biological, psychological and social factors relative to pre-shift work baseline in a cohort of paramedics commencing intern employment with an Australian ambulance service.
This observational, mixed-methods, longitudinal study aims to recruit 40 interns from one Australian ambulance service. Data collection will occur at baseline (standard day schedule for initial training), and subsequently at three months, six months, nine months and twelve months, to measure biological, psychological and social changes relative to baseline measurements. Changes in cardiometabolic markers (cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose), microbiome (self-collected stool samples), sleep and physical activity (actigraphy) will be measured. Interns will also complete a battery of self-report questionnaires, sleep diaries and qualitative interviews to explore various psychological and social variables over time. Statistical analyses will be conducted using mixed effects regression, specifying a random effect of subject on the intercept, allowing participants to vary according to individual baseline levels, as well as tracking progress over time, appropriately accounting for serial correlation. Qualitative study components will be analysed via coding and thematic analysis procedures.
The present study protocol is a comprehensive outline of the observational study planned. The study will allow for greater knowledge of any changes in biological, psychological and social factors during a 12-month transition to shift work. The findings from the proposed study will have implications for the development of strategies to support early-career shift workers.
急救人员经常需要轮班工作。现有研究表明，轮班工作暴露与不良的身心健康结果有关。然而，目前对于急救人员开始轮班工作对健康的影响的理解有限。通过在开始轮班工作之前招募新的急救人员，并定期跟踪潜在的生物、心理和社会变化，可以解决这个问题。本研究旨在检查在澳大利亚一家救护车服务机构开始实习工作的一组急救人员相对于轮班前基线的生物、心理和社会因素的变化。
本观察性、混合方法、纵向研究旨在从一家澳大利亚救护车服务机构招募 40 名实习生。数据收集将在基线时进行（初始培训的标准日时间表），随后在三个月、六个月、九个月和十二个月进行，以测量相对于基线测量的生物、心理和社会变化。将测量心血管代谢标志物（胆固醇、甘油三酯、空腹血糖）、微生物组（自我采集的粪便样本）、睡眠和身体活动（活动记录仪）的变化。实习生还将完成一系列自我报告问卷、睡眠日记和定性访谈，以随着时间的推移探索各种心理和社会变量。统计分析将使用混合效应回归进行，在截距处指定受试者的随机效应，允许参与者根据个人基线水平而有所不同，并随着时间的推移跟踪进展，适当考虑序列相关性。定性研究部分将通过编码和主题分析程序进行分析。
本研究方案是计划进行的观察性研究的全面概述。该研究将更好地了解在 12 个月过渡到轮班工作期间生物、心理和社会因素的任何变化。拟议研究的结果将对制定支持早期职业轮班工人的策略产生影响。
