Drowsy Driving Among Shift Work Nurses: A Qualitative Data Analysis

Drowsy driving claims many lives every year. While all drivers are susceptible to the problem of drowsy driving, the nurse population is of particular concern. Studies have shown the severity of drowsiness for night shift nurses both at work and on the drive home. Many work and non-work factors contribute to the drowsiness that nurses experience. This study used a semi-structured interview approach to gain the perception and experiences of nurses concerning drowsy driving and possible interventions. Interviews were conducted at a large hospital in south central Texas with 30 night shift nurses. Visualizations depicting nurses’ responses are presented to aid in the understanding of the themes derived from the interviews. The nurses experience drowsy driving on a regular basis, use ineffective mitigation techniques and have differing preferences for an educational and technological intervention for drowsy driving. An emergent theme was how work and non-work factors work in conjunction to impact the nurses’ experiences of drowsy driving. Potential, implementable solutions regarding some of these factors are presented.