Effect of Shift Work on the Frequency of Depression in Nursing Staff of Yazd University of Medical Sciences

Depression as a disorder is relatively common in all societies; several factors are involved in depression development, that shift work is one of these factors. This study compared the frequency of depression in different shifts of nurses in hospitals of Yazd University of medical sciences. This study is a descriptive analytical study. Based on statistical methods, 150 nurses participated in this study. The research tool was a questionnaire that included 15 personal questions and 21 questions related to Beck test. The results were analysed by SPSS software. 13.3% of all subjects were males and 86.7% were females. Results showed that, there is no significant relationship between gender, education, type of job, employment status and satisfaction levels of income with depression. Marital status (P-Value = 0.009 and F = 6.93), shift work (day working and shift work) (P-Value = 0.032 and F = 1.11), job satisfaction (P-Value = 0.000 and F = 7.641) and the satisfaction of the employer (P-Value = 0.001 and F = 5.414) were significantly associated with depression. 3.49% of the nurses were in normal status, 7.26% had mild depression, 3.9% required consultation with the psychiatrist,% 7.8% suffered from moderate depression, 75.4% from severe depression and 3.1% from very severe depression. It seems that shift work can not cause depression alone, but depression is the result of the interaction of several factors.