The use of a pedometer to measure the physical activity during 12-hour shift of ICU and nurse anaesthetists in Poland

Abstract

Background: Nurses are the largest group of employees in hospitals yet their working environment and conditions are not always optimal. Moreover, nurses may be convinced that the physical activity they perform during working hours is sufficient to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Objectives: The study aimed to measure the number of steps, the distance and the energy expenditure during a 12-hour shift in the intensive care unit and for nurse anaesthetists in selected hospitals in Poland.

Methods: Data were collected via a pedometer and a socio-demographic interview. The project was multicentre, data were collected from 11.11.2013 to 04.05.2014.

Results: The median number of steps taken by nurse anaesthetists within the operating room was 7404 (IQR 4461-9443) while in the ICU it was 7358 (IQR 4705-9101). During the day in the operating and recovery room, both nurse anaesthetists (IQR 3.90-6.26) and ICU nurses (IQR 3.54-6.39) reached the median distance of five kilometres. There were significant differences in the distance covered during day and night between ICU (p = 0.0003) and anaesthetic staff (p = 0.0001) as well as the number of steps (ICU p = 0.0002; ANEST p = 0.0001) and energy expenditure (ICU p = 0.0004; ANEST p = 0.0001).

Conclusion: The professional activity of nurses alone is insufficient to meet the recommendation of taking 10,000 steps daily, which would contribute to improved quality of life.

Keywords: Nurses; Pedometer; Physical exertion; Professional activities; Walking; Work environment.