Despite the consequences of night-shift work, the diet of night-shift workers has not been widely studied. To date, there are no studies related to food intake among emergency healthcare workers (HCWs). We performed a prospective observational study to assess the influence of night work on the diet of emergency HCWs. We monitored 24-h food intake during a day shift and the consecutive night, and during night work and the daytime beforehand. We analyzed 184 emergency HCWs’ food intakes. Emergency HCWs had 14.7% lower (−206 kcal) of their 24-h energy intake during night shifts compared to their day-shift colleagues (1606.7 ± 748.2 vs. 1400.4 ± 708.3 kcal, p = 0.049) and a 16.7% decrease in water consumption (1451.4 ± 496.8 vs. 1208.3 ± 513.9 mL/day, p = 0.010). Compared to day shifts, night-shift had 8.7% lower carbohydrates, 17.6% proteins, and 18.7% lipids. During the night shift the proportion of emergency HCWs who did not drink for 4 h, 8 h and 12 h increased by 20.5%, 17.5%, and 9.1%, respectively. For those who did not eat for 4 h, 8 h and 12 h increased by 46.8%, 27.7%, and 17.7%, respectively. A night shift has a huge negative impact on both the amount and quality of nutrients consumed by emergency healthcare workers.

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Background Chronic pain affects approximately 30% of the general population, severely degrades quality of life (especially in older adults) and professional life (inability or reduction in the ability to work and loss of employment), and leads to billions in additional health care costs. Moreover, available painkillers are old, with limited efficacy and can cause significant adverse effects. Thus, there is a need for innovation in the management of chronic pain. Better characterization of patients could help to identify the predictors of successful treatments, and thus, guide physicians in the initial choice of treatment and in the follow-up of their patients. Nevertheless, current assessments of patients with chronic pain provide only fragmentary data on painful daily experiences. Real-life monitoring of subjective and objective markers of chronic pain using mobile health (mHealth) programs can address this issue. Objective We hypothesized that regular patient self-monitoring using an mHealth app would lead physicians to obtain deeper understanding and new insight into patients with chronic pain and that, for patients, regular self-monitoring using an mHealth app would play a positive therapeutic role and improve adherence to treatment. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a new mHealth app called eDOL. Methods We conducted an observational study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the eDOL tool. Patients completed several questionnaires using the tool over a period of 2 weeks and repeated assessments weekly over a period of 3 months. Physicians saw their patients at a follow-up visit that took place at least 3 months after the inclusion visit. A composite criterion of the acceptability and feasibility of the eDOL tool was calculated after the completion of study using satisfaction surveys from both patients and physicians. Results Data from 105 patients (of 133 who were included) were analyzed. The rate of adherence was 61.9% (65/105) after 3 months. The median acceptability score was 7 (out of 10) for both patients and physicians. There was a high rate of completion of the baseline questionnaires and assessments (mean 89.3%), and a low rate of completion of the follow-up questionnaires and assessments (63.8% (67/105) and 61.9% (65/105) respectively). We were also able to characterize subgroups of patients and determine a profile of those who adhered to eDOL. We obtained 4 clusters that differ from each other in their biopsychosocial characteristics. Cluster 4 corresponds to patients with more disabling chronic pain (daily impact and comorbidities) and vice versa for cluster 1. Conclusions This work demonstrates that eDOL is highly feasible and acceptable for both patients with chronic pain and their physicians. It also shows that such a tool can integrate many parameters to ensure the detailed characterization of patients for future research works and pain management. Trial Registration ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03931694; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03931694

BACKGROUND The pharmacopoeia of analgesics is old, their effectiveness is limited, with undesirable effects and little progress has been made in recent years. Thus, innovation is limited despite prolific basic research. Better characterization of patients could help to identify the predictors of successful treatments through research programs, and therefore enable physicians to carry out better decision-making in the initial choice of treatment and in the follow-up of their patients. Nevertheless, the current assessment of chronic pain patients provides only fragmentary data on their painful daily experiences. Thus, it is essential to modify the temporality in which patients’ sensations are assessed, with real-life monitoring of different parameters, i.e. subjective and objective markers of chronic pain. Consequently, recent studies have highlighted the urgent need to develop self-management and chronic pain management programs through e-health programs, and enhance their therapeutic value. OBJECTIVE We hypothesize that regular patient self-monitoring using an mHealth application would lead physicians to obtain deeper knowledge and a new vision of chronic pain patients, while for patients it would play a positive therapeutic role, as they become active in their own management and benefit from online advice. Such an assessment would not only contribute to better patient characterization and help in the choice of the most appropriate treatment, but could also improve adherence to treatment. To address this issue, we evaluated the feasibility and acceptability, by patients and physicians, of a new mHealth application called eDOL. METHODS An observational study assessing the feasibility and acceptability of the eDOL tool was conducted. Patients completed several questionnaires via eDOL over a period of 2 weeks, and then repeatedly over a period of 3 months. Physicians saw their patients at a follow-up visit that took place at least 3-months after the inclusion visit. The primary endpoint, a composite criterion reflecting the acceptability of eDOL and the feasibility of its use, was assessed using satisfaction questionnaires for both patients and physicians after the completion of study. RESULTS One hundred and thirty-three patients were included of whom 105 were analyzable. Our results showed a rate of adherence of approximately 60% of patients after 3 months of using eDOL, a median acceptability score around 7/10 for both patients and physicians, a high rate of completion of the baseline questionnaires / meters, and a low rate for follow-up questionnaires / meters and forms. We were also able to characterize subgroups of patients and determine a profile of those who adhered to eDOL. CONCLUSIONS This work demonstrates that eDOL is highly feasible and acceptable for both chronic pain patients and their physicians. It also shows that such a tool can integrate many parameters to ensure the detailed characterization of patients for future research works and pain management. CLINICALTRIAL NCT03931694

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