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.

轮班工作，尤其是夜间工作，强迫人体在夜间自然倾向于睡眠，而在白天保持清醒或工作，这种生理节律与日常作息的冲突与中等至长期的健康不良结果相关联。人类睡眠/觉醒行为的紊乱与中等至长期的健康不良结果（包括肥胖、2型糖尿病和心血管疾病）密切相关。尽管轮班工作与不良健康结果（包括肥胖、2型糖尿病和心血管疾病）之间存在持续关联，但我们仍然缺乏对这些疾病随时间推移如何进展的清晰图景。这部分原因在于缺乏对轮班工作者生理和心理健康早期变化的研究。

拟议的研究将针对新招募的SAAS员工进行，这将是全球首个此类研究，旨在跟踪40名新招募者从招募到其就业第一年的救护人员，以确定开始轮班工作对身心健康的影响。

招募者将在被招募到SAAS的入职期间被邀请参与研究。他们将每季度接受监测，完成一系列问卷调查、血液检测和随意提供的粪便样本，以探讨早期轮班工作和第一年健康变化的影响。这些信息对于更好地理解轮班工作与福祉之间的关系，并为管理这一群体的福祉提供有意义的指导至关重要。