| Objective:The instability of cognitive function will lead to the risk of medical errors.To ensure medical safety,nurses should have a good cognitive function.Young female nurses are the main force on the clinical front line,and their cognitive function is affected by many factors.Workload and menstrual cycle are two potential factors affecting cognitive function;however,their effect on female nurses remains unclear.Therefore,based on the special nature of nursing work,the present study will explore the impact of workload and menstrual cycle on the cognitive function of female nurses to provide a supporting basis for protecting the health rights and interests of female nurses and improving the quality of medical care.Methods:The study was a within-subject,longitudinal design.From November 2020 to December 2021,young female nurses with regular menstrual cycle were recruited by questionnaire and interview in Hefei Cancer Hospital,Chinese Academy of Sciences.From the perspective of endogenous ovarian hormone fluctuations across the menstrual cycle,four key cognitive abilities（inhibitory control,cognitive flexibility,divided attention,and working memory）closely related to nursing work were measured using computerized cognitive assessment tools during the menses phase,late follicular phase,and mid-luteal phase.In addition,participants were classified into high and low workload groups using NASA Task Load Index scores.SPSS 22.0 statistical software was used for descriptive statistics,t-test,chi-square test,and repeated measure analysis of variance.Results:1.There was a significant interaction among workload,menstrual cycle and task condition[F（2,154）=3.885,P=0.023,η~2=0.048]in the accuracy index of inhibitory control task.The main effect of menstrual cycle was significant[F（2,39）=5.756,P=0.006,η~2=0.228]in the incongruent condition of low workload group.The accuracy of the mid-luteal phase was significantly higher than the menses phase（P=0.003）and the late follicular phase（P=0.037）.2.On the accuracy index of cognitive flexibility task,there was a significant main effect of menstrual cycle[F（1.703,131.121）=5.271,P=0.009,η~2=0.064].Post hoc analysis show that higher accuracy in the mid-luteal phase than the menses phase（P=0.006）and late follicular phase（P=0.007）.3.On the sensitivity measure（A’）of divided attention task,there was a significant main effect of menstrual cycle[F（2,154）=3.29,P=0.035,η~2=0.042].Post hoc analysis indicated higher A’in the mid-luteal phase than the menses phase（P=0.021）and late follicular phase（P=0.03）.On the reaction time measure of divided attention task,there was a significant interaction between the workload and menstrual cycle[F（2,154）=3.213,P=0.043,η~2=0.04].Follow-up analyses revealed that participants of low workload responded faster during the mid-luteal phase than the menses phase（P=0.037）.4.The main effect of workload,the main effect of menstrual cycle and the interaction between workload and menstrual cycle were not significant in working memory task（P>0.05）.Conclusion:1.Workload did not affect the cognitive function of female nurses.2.Menstrual cycle affects the cognitive performance of female nurses.Our results demonstrate a significant mid-luteal cognitive advantage on the accuracy of the cognitive flexibility task and the sensitivity（A’）of the divided attention task.3.Workload and menstrual cycle have an interactive effect on cognitive performance of female nurses.Only females of low workload manifest the mid-luteal cognitive advantage on the accuracy of inhibitory control and the reaction time of divided attention,while the mid-luteal cognitive advantage disappeared in the high workload group,implying that a suitable workload threshold might be necessary for the effects of hormones on female brain cognitive function. |
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