Assessing fatigue among ICU nurses using the Yoshitake fatigue questionnaire — a pilot study

Abstract

Nurses’ fatigue has a substantial impact on patient health, and even survival. Since early detection of risks through observation is essential to preventing health complications in patients, insufficient numbers of nursing staff and their excessive workload contribute to higher patient treatment costs. The above considerations were the motivation for the present study, which attempts to assess fatigue among nurses in intensive care units (ICUs). The purpose of the study was to determine the severity of fatigue in anesthesiology and intensive care nurses, and to investigate the relationship between nurses’ workload and fatigue, which comprised reduced activity, reduced motivation, and physical fatigue symptoms. Material and methods: The study included 54 anesthesiology nurses working in an intensive care unit. The research instrument used was the Yoshitake fatigue questionnaire. Conclusions: Nurses working in intensive care units experience high levels of fatigue. Fatigue was most severe with regard to motivation, followed by physical fatigue, and then activity. As for specific symptoms, the most significant included: “heaviness in the legs”, “wanting to lie down”, “becoming nervous”, “back pain”, and “feeling thirsty”. Large-scale research on nurse fatigue is warranted.