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Heba Ahmed Albhair , Bussma Ahmed Bugis

Abstract

The effect of working hours and break periods have been studied among different health care professionals; however, limited studies have been performed on respiratory care providers all over the world. This study aims to investigate the impact of the break time among respiratory providers and to determine whether there are any differences in the break time between the 8-hour shifts and 12-hour shifts and if differences in the break time rules and timing among different hospital categories in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia will impact the quality of the work. The study was a cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical, questionnaire-based study targeting all respiratory care providers in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The population was 183. The majority agreed that taking a break affects the quality of provided care, and the tendency to make errors increases when they do not have a break (59%). Their physical health and psychological health improve when they take a break. More than one-third of the 8 to 9 hour shift providers and day shift providers (39.6%) agreed on the fixed timing for breaks in their work area, while 66.9% of providers who worked 12 hour shifts and both (day/night) shift providers (69.3%) disagreed on that. This study demonstrated the influence of break hours on work quality among respiratory care providers in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

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