Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Not Yet Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06714422

Apples in Night Shift

Background: Emergency doctors face a highly stressful work environment during night shifts. Long-term night shift work can lead to sleep deprivation, fatigue accumulation, and disruption of the biological clock, which may affect doctors' work efficiency and physical and mental health. There are various health interventions for night shift doctors, one of which is an interesting practice of carrying an apple as a symbol of the "night shift deity" to relieve anxiety and improve work efficiency. Although this behavior is not supported by sufficient scientific evidence, it has become a common habit among some doctors during night shifts due to its simplicity, low risk, and ritualistic nature.

Objective: To assess whether carrying an apple during night shifts can significantly reduce fatigue, decrease work intensity, and enhance work experience for emergency doctors.

Design: Single-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial.

Participants: several doctors with a total of 60 emergency working night shifts.

Primary Outcome: Average number of patients per night shift.

Sample Size: The study plans to recruit several doctors with a total of 60 emergency night shifts and randomly assign them to the experimental group and the control group. One doctor can be randomized for many times.

Not Yet Recruiting

Trial opening soon.

Get Notified

Key information

Conditions

Night Work Disease Attributes Emergencies Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Age range

20 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

About this study

Background: Emergency doctors face a highly stressful work environment during night shifts. Long-term night shift work can lead to sleep deprivation, fatigue accumulation, and disruption of the biological clock, which may affect doctors' work efficiency and physical and mental health. There are various health interventions for night shift doctors, one of which is an interesting practice of carrying an apple as a symbol of the "night shift deity" to relieve anxiety and improve work efficiency. Although this behavior is not supported by sufficient scientific evidence, it has become a common habit among some doctors during night shifts due to its simplicity, low risk, and ritualistic nature.

Objective: To assess whether carrying an apple during night shifts can significantly reduce fatigue, decrease work intensity, and enhance work experience for emergency doctors.

Design: Single-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial.

Participants: several doctors with a total of 60 emergency working night shifts.

Primary Outcome: Average number of patients per night shift.

Sample Size: The study plans to recruit several doctors with a total of 60 emergency night shifts and randomly assign them to the experimental group and the control group. One doctor can be randomized for many times.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Doctors who have a night shift in the emergency department of gynaecology with at least two weeks experience.

Exclusion criteria

Doctors who refuse to join the study

Treatment and study plan

apple group

Procedure

Doctors will bring apples during night shift

no apple group

Procedure

No apples during night shift

Primary outcomes

  1. number of patients

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    Number of patients during the night shift

Secondary outcomes

  1. Evaluation of night shifts

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    Overall evaluation of night shifts by doctors (Good, Average, Poor)

  2. Emergency admissions

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    Admissions of emergency patients during the night shift randomized.

  3. Emergency surgery number

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    Number of patients who experience emergency surgery during the night shift.

  4. Emergency uterine evacuation number

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    Number of patients who need emergency uterine evacuation during the night shift.

  5. Complicated patients number

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    The number of patients needs to be checked by a senior doctor

  6. Doctor's break time

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    The time (hours) of the doctor's break.

  7. Number of patients admitted to emergency room

    Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day

    The number of people who need to be admitted to the emergency room

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Kai-Lun Hu, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

86-15901575271

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Peking University Third Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Should Doctors Bring an Apple to Have a More Relaxed Night Shift?: a Single Center, Open Label, Randomized Trial

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Dec 3, 2024
Registry last updated
Dec 3, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.