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Call for night shift nurses to be part of type 2 diabetes study

King’s College London researchers are looking for 70 volunteers to take part in a study to see how shift work affects healthcare staff with type 2 diabetes  

King’s College London researchers are looking for 70 volunteers to take part in a study to see how shift work affects healthcare staff with type 2 diabetes

Call for night shift nurses with type 2 diabetes to take part in a new study
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Are you a nurse with type 2 diabetes who regularly works night shifts? Then researchers want to hear from you.

Glucose and activity will be monitored as well as diet and sleep

King’s College London researchers are looking for 70 volunteers to take part in the university’s Shift-Diabetes study, which will examine how shift work affects healthcare staff with type 2 diabetes.

Volunteers will be asked to wear a glucose and activity monitor for a ten-day period, including night shifts, days shifts and rest days. They will also be asked to record diet and sleep.

The Diabetes UK-funded study is also looking for 15 volunteers to participate in a one-hour online meeting looking at how and when they eat on night shifts, and what factors may influence this.

Previous studies point to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in staff who have worked rotating or night shifts over several years, compared to those who have only worked day shifts.

Eligible nurses urged to take part in diabetes research

King’s College London lecturer in nutrition and dietetics Rachel Gibson, who is conducting the study, encouraged eligible nurses to get in touch. ‘Taking part in either part of the study will help us to understand more about the impact of shift work on diet and blood glucose in employees living with type 2 diabetes.

‘The end goal of the research is to develop an intervention to improve the health of shift workers living with type 2 diabetes,' Dr Gibson said.

Can I take part in the Shift-Diabetes study?

  • The Shift-Diabetes study is looking for hospital or residential care-based shift workers with type 2 diabetes who work a mixed or rotating shift pattern, with regular night shifts
  • You will need to work a minimum of four nights per month
  • The study can be conducted remotely, so is open to nursing staff across the UK. Volunteers will be paid £60 for the monitoring study, and £25 for the interview study

For more information, go to The Shift-Diabetes study or email shift-diabetes@kcl.ac.uk



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