The relationship between nurse work schedules, sleep duration, and drowsy driving.

Study Objectives: Recent studies have shown that extended shifts worked by hospital staff nurses are associated with significantly higher risk of errors, yet little information is available about the ability to remain alert during the nurses' commutes following the completion of an extended work shift. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of drowsy driving episodes and the relationship between drowsy driving and nurse work hours, alertness on duty, working at night, and sleep duration.

Participants: Data were collected from 2 national random samples of registered nurses (n=895).