Assessing the relationships between nurse work hours/overtime and nurse and patient outcomes: systematic literature review

Background The effects of work hours/overtime on nurse and patient outcomes and specific components of work hours (per shift and per week) and overtime on these effects have not been systematically examined. Purpose The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate the effect of nurse overtime and long work hours on nurse and patient outcomes. Methods An online search of six electronic bibliographic databases was conducted for research published from 2000 to 2013. Discussion Twenty-one nurse outcome measures and 19 patient outcome measures were found in relationships with work hours and overtime. A total of 67 relationships to nurse outcomes and 41 relationships to patient outcomes were examined. Conclusions The findings of this review suggested that evidence supporting positive relationships between working long hours and adverse outcomes to the nurses is strong. However, to make a conclusion of the positive relationship between long work hours and adverse patient outcomes, more evidence is needed.