Crowded wards increase nurses' risk of depression

Nurses who work in overcrowded wards may have a higher risk of depression. Researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health looked at 16 hospitals in 2003 and 2004 to see what the monthly bed-occupancy rate was. They defined an 85% bed-occupancy rate as 'optimal' and anything above this as overcrowding. They then compared these rates to statistics on sick leave for 5,166 members of staff in 2004 and 2005. In the most crowded wards - with more than 95% occupancy - staff had double the risk of depression.

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