1. Motivational Drivers
Table 1: Six key drivers reported to have influenced dietary habits of healthcare workers
Dietary Habits
• RSIN workers rarely/never consumed fruits and cereals but more oil and
tea
• Morning and afternoon workers consumed fruits several times a week
• Morning and RSIN workers rarely/never consume milk (calcium)
• Consumption of alcoholic drinks (about once a week) and vegetable
(several times a week) same amongst all shifts
Interpretation Associated variables
Lack of
Motivation
Physically tired due to heavy workload
Convenient to purchase meals outside of home
High Energy Food
Consumption
Snacks more frequently when working night shifts
Socialising
Joins friends for alcoholic drinks after working night shifts
Drinking alcohol to relieve stress from work
Stress Relief
Snacking regardless of working day or night shifts to
relieve stress from work
Work Pressure
Interrupted meals
Often skips meals due to heavy workload
Food Availability Sufficient food choices in workplace
Influence of Shift Work on Dietary Habits of
Healthcare Workers in Singapore
Joanne Hoong Hui Kheng (Project Supervisor: Dr Helen Kendall)
Food and Human Nutrition, School of Agricultural & Rural Development
Newcastle University, Singapore
Shift Work (SW)
• Almost 25% of all nurses are subjected to shift work
(SW)
• Difficulty in achieving balanced diet and experiences
disrupted sleep patterns
• Increases risk of developing non-communicable
diseases (NCDs) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)
Questionnaire Design
• Adjectival scale, Likert Scale, open and closed- ended
• Questionnaire revised after pilot process conducted
• External factors such as working hours, types of shifts performed and work stress- key to influencing dietary habits
• Six key motivations drivers identified
• Performing shifts may have also caused an impact on sleeping hours, physical activity and the possible development of health
conditions like HBP, T2D and physical ailments in healthcare workers
To explore and evaluate effects of shift work on dietary
habits of healthcare workers in Singapore as well as to
identify motivational drivers that may account for their
dietary choices.
METHODOLOGY
AIM
RESULTSINTRODUCTION
CONCLUSION
Healthcare workers are advised to:
Strengths and Limitation:
• Provides preliminary insights to factor influencing dietary habits of
healthcare workers
• Successfully identified six key factors that influenced dietary habits
• Small sample size and unequal population in terms of age and shifts
performed
Future studies:
• Increasing sample size
• Longer period of study
• Qualitative research like focus groups can be conducted
DISCUSSION
International Labour Organization (2011) 43. Hours of Work. Available at: http://www.iloencyclopaedia.org/part-vi-16255/hours-of-work (Accessed: 3 August 2015).
Phiri, L.P., Draper, C.E., Lambert, E.V. and Kolbe-Alexander, T.L. (2014) ‘Nurses’ lifestyle behaviours, health priorities and barriers to living a healthy lifestyle: a qualitative descriptive study’, BMC Nursing, 13
(38), pp. 2-10.
Hemio, K., Puttonen, S., Viitasalo, K., Peltonen, M. and Lindstrom, J. (2015) ‘Food and nutrient intake among workers with different shift systems’, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 72(2), pp. 513-
520.
REFERENCES
• 1.5 times higher for night
shift workers
• Factors like work and
social environment may
have contributed to the
effects of dietary habits Image from: Singapore General Hospital
Data Collection
Self-completion online questionnaire contained
following sections: Dietary habits (Food frequency
questions) and motivation, lifestyle habits, working
environment, current health condition, demographics
Recruitment
• Healthcare workers from seven hospitals were
electronically invited to the study
• Second group invited through word of mouth as
snowball approach
• N=55 [28 morning, 5 afternoon and 22 rotating shift
including night (RSIN)]
Data analysis
• Descriptive statistics conducted prior to factor
analysis using SPSS statistical software 22.0
• Consider following Health Promotion Board’s My Healthy
Plate
• TWO servings each of fruits and vegetables daily
• Calcium: Increase intake to 800mg daily to prevent
osteoporosis
• Alcohol: Females and males to limit themselves to 1
(330ml) and 2 standard drinks respectively
Image from: HPB