Sleep and Safety Decision-Making Among Truck Drivers

Abstract

Background: Restorative sleep is essential for the level of cognitive performance required of truckers to drive safely. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe and explore sleep-related and safety decision-making among truck drivers. Methods: Flyers and snowball sampling were used to recruit truck drivers into the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine personal and professional influences on sleep and safety decision-making and preferences for receiving health information. Thematic analysis was conducted to generate descriptions of participants’ experiences. Findings: The sample consisted of 10 White males with a mean of 22 years of truck-driving experience. Weather conditions and drowsiness were the most commonly described conditions that required sleep decision-making by the participants. Four themes impacting sleep- and safety-related decision-making emerged including sentinel events, evolving driver characteristics, relationships, and company-level factors. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Findings from this study suggest that there are both internal and external factors influencing sleep and safety decision-making among truck drivers. Personal relationships with important others, such as family members, and professional relationships with company dispatchers were important influences among participants. During encounters with truck drivers, occupational health nurses should assess sleep quality and quantity and review healthy sleep hygiene strategies with them and their family members, if they are available. Future larger studies are necessary to inform the development of interventions and company policies to promote healthy sleep among truck drivers.

Impact of work and coping factors on mental health: Australian truck drivers’ perspective

“…We know that family and social relationships are vital for mental health and psychological wellbeing [ 16 , 17 ]. We also know that positive relationships have a beneficial effect on sleep and safety decision-making for drivers [ 18 ]. Social support is a significant factor in injury recovery for all workers [ 19 ] and receiving support from friends is also associated with lower usage of healthcare services [ 20 ].…”

The Impacts of Transportation System towards the Military Logistics Support in Sabah

“…In finding the research participants for the interview, this study used purposeful snowball sampling and resulted in 17 key informants, which comprised military transport drivers and officers. According to Heaton [25], using the snowball method in purposeful sampling will help gather rich information in learning about an issue. With the assistance given by military headquarters, the semi-structured interview was conducted.…”

A Fadiga no Transporte Rodoviário de Cargas: Uma Revisão Sistemática Sobre os Motoristas de Caminhão

“…Em razão de necessidades operacionais, muitas vezes os motoristas precisam atuar escalas de trabalho, em turnos (muitas vezes irregulares), limitando a realização do sono restaurador. Essa condição é amplamente reconhecida por aumentar o risco de acidentes (HEATON et al, 2020).…”

“…A perda de sono costuma ser causada por distúrbios que afetam a qualidade e quantidade do sono que a pessoa tem. O distúrbio mais comum é a síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono (AOS), uma condição na qual um indivíduo acorda repetidamente durante o sono, consequência de breves períodos de interrupção/obstrução da respiração (ALVARO et al, 2016;ANDERSON et al, 2017;DE MELLO et al, 2013;GARBARINO et al, 2018;HEATON et al, 2017;HEATON et al, 2020;HEGE et al, 2015;LEMKE et al, 2016;NADERI et al, 2018;SHAMS et al, 2020;WISE et al, 2020). Além disso, o estresse, as doenças cardíacas, o diabetes e os distúrbios psiquiátricos também influenciam no surgimento da fadiga (BACHMANN et al, 2018;GARBARINO et al, 2018;HEGE et al, 2019;LEMKE et al, 2017;DE MELLO, 2017;RIVA et al, 2018;STERN et al, 2019;WISE et al, 2020).…”