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Introduction: Workplace experiences may place Black nurses at higher risk for poor sleep and adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to identify poor sleep prevalence and associations of workplace discrimination and workplace social capital with sleep. Methodology: Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression with exploratory analyses were conducted of cross sectional survey data from US Black nurses. Results: On average, 63 respondents reported sleeping 6.15 h, 45 min less daily than 6.9 h reported nationally for nurses. Ninety-percent of respondents reported poor sleep quality. While no direct significance was found, respondents reporting sleep quality changes had lower workplace social capital and higher workplace discrimination. Conclusion: Black nurses may have higher prevalence of poor sleep than the larger nursing workforce. A potential relationship between decreased sleep quality and negative perceptions of the work environment may exist. Organizations should examine sleep and potential occupational health inequities among Black nurses when considering worker health.

Background: Little is known about the health and well-being of U.S. correctional nurses. To protect correctional nurses, a better understanding of organizational characteristics, job stress, and well-being must be undertaken.Method: A cross-sectional design was used in the form of an online survey. Correctional nurses were conveniently recruited using national listservs and snowball sampling. Variables were measured with the Health & Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool, Nurse Wellbeing Index, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analyses of variance.Findings: Two hundred seventy participants (142 registered nurses, 83 licensed practical nurses/licensed vocational nurses, and 42 advanced practice nurses) completed the survey. Job stress scored moderate (M= 16.26, SD= 7.14), and well-being levels were just below the risk for adverse events (M= 1.8, SD= 3.06). Lower scores were noted for managerial support (M= 3.13, SD= 0.35) and job demands (M= 3.56, SD= 0.92), but slightly better for job control (M= 3.57, SD= 0.77), peer support (M= 3.85, SD= 0.64), and workplace relationships (M= 3.73, SD= 0.95).Conclusions: Significant differences between organizational characteristics, job stress, and well-being were found across nursing licensure, workplace environments, biological sex, and employment through state or private agencies. Registered nurses working in U.S. prisons experienced the highest job stress and worse well-being.Application to Practice: This work is an essential next step in promoting healthy workspaces, urging the need for further research establishing the impact of organizational characteristics and job stress on nurse well-being.

Background: New graduate role transition for nurses and teachers is stressful. Poor adaptation may manifest as insomnia, which has implications for the new professionals, their employers, and the public served. This study examines factors that impact new graduate sleep, with the aim of identifying perceived helps and hindrances to sleep-during-transition.Methods: Targeted content analysis of transcripts from a larger longitudinal mixed methods study comparing new graduate sleep during their first year of practice. Study participants (N= 21) answered questions in the final interview regarding the most positive and negative impact(s) on sleep during the transition year. Transcripts were analyzed and compared based on the new graduate sleep typology (i.e., Got Better, Got Worse, Stayed Varied) which emerged from the parent study.Findings: Most participants, regardless of sleep type, identified a person/group as most positively impacting sleep. They identified work thoughts, stress/anxiety, people, work hours/sleep schedules, and environmental factors as negatively impacting sleep. Work thoughts and stress/anxiety were mentioned together and most frequently by participants in all three sleep types.Conclusion/Applications to Practice: This study provided insight into new graduate nurse and teacher sleep during transition. Support persons and/or groups may be essential regardless of sleep type. Thought management/stress mitigation strategies and good sleep hygiene may also improve the sleep experiences of these new professionals. Occupational health nurses can support sleep-during-transition among new nurses and teachers by acting as sleep advocates. They may also identify a need for medical intervention and/or sleep specialists and should promote fatigue risk mitigating policies.

Background: Outdoor workers face unique challenges in preventing heat-related illnesses (HRI). Although preventable, HRI and death from heat exposure continue. A review of the most recent recommendation for HRI prevention in outdoor workers in the United States was warranted. A scoping review using PRISMA guidelines was conducted to compile policy statements and recommendations on the prevention of HRI and synthesize them into a three-step plan for prevention using the Haddon Matrix.Method: PubMed, CINAHL, Medline, and websites from organizations and regulating bodies were searched for sources. Key terms such as occupational OR workers OR employers OR policymakers, HRI OR heat stress OR heat, prevention, recommendations OR position statements were used. Inclusion criteria were articles published within the last 5 years written in English and containing recommendations for preventing HRI in outdoor workers. Research not based on U.S. workers was excluded from the review.Results: Twenty sources comprised the review. Several themes emerged, indicating deficient recommendations for secondary and tertiary prevention.Conclusion/Application to Practice: This review’s findings can be used by occupational health nurses (OHNs) in developing comprehensive interventions for preventing HRI and injury, using clear language, and following evidenced-based practices to increase workplace health and safety and promote equity.

Background: Sleep health disturbances can increase risks for workplace injury, error, and poor worker health. Essential workers have reported sleep disturbances since the COVID-19 pandemic onset, which may jeopardize their health and safety. The aims of this project were to assess sleep health among Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) workers, examine potential differences between worker types, and describe the self-perceived impact of COVID-19 on workers’ workload and sleep.Methods: Through an academic–practice partnership, this needs assessment used a cross-sectional design that collected self-report data during fall 2020 from CCRC workers. Guided by the Workplace Health Model, survey questions included work characteristics, sleep health, and COVID-19 impact on sleep and workload.Findings: Ninety-four respondents completed the survey across multiple departments. Respondents (n =34, 36.2%) reported sleeping below recommended hours on workdays. The majority scored above the population mean on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement (PROMIS) measures of sleep disturbance (n =52, 55.3%), sleep-related impairment (n =49, 52.1%), and fatigue (n =49, 52.1%). Differences in workday total sleep time and fatigue were noted among shift workers versus nonshift workers, with shift workers reporting less sleep and more fatigue. Shorter sleep duration was noted among respondents working shifts 10 or more hours compared with those working 8 hours. Pandemic-related workload increase was reported by 22.3% (n =21) of respondents, with 17% (n =16) noting more than one type of workload change. Since COVID-19 onset, 36.2% (n =34) reported no sleep changes and 35.1% (n =33) reported sleeping less. A medium, positive relationship was found between increased changes in work due to COVID-19 and increased difficulties sleeping (r= .41, n= 73, p= .000).Conclusion/Application to Practice: Proper sleep health is essential to workplace safety and worker health. By assessing sleep health during a crisis, occupational health nurses can identify opportunities to support worker health and safety, through sleep education, monitoring for sleepiness and fatigue, ensuring countermeasures are available (e.g., caffeine), and assessing for opportunities to change organizational policies.