Physical and psychological changes in shift working ambulance personnel entering the workforce: An exploratory, mixed-methods observational study

Shift work, particularly night work, forces a mismatch between the body's natural inclination to sleep during the night, and to be awake/work during the day. Disruption to human sleep/wake behavior is associated with poor health outcomes in the medium- to long-term. While shift work is consistently associated with poor health outcomes (including obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease) we still do not have a clear picture of how these diseases progress over time. This is due in part to a lack of research looking at the early changes in physiological and psychological wellbeing in new shift workers. The proposed study in new SAAS recruits will be the first of its kind worldwide to follow new recruits (n=40) from recruitment and over the first year of their employment as ambulance personnel to determine the impact of commencing shift work on physical and mental health. Recruits will be invited to participate in the study during their induction period when first recruited to SAAS. They will be monitored quarterly, and complete a series of questionnaires, a blood test, and ad libitum faecal samples, to explore the impact of early shift work and health changes in the first year. This information is needed to better understand the relationship between shift work and wellbeing, and to provide meaningful guidelines for managing wellbeing in this workforce.