Factors related to absenteeism due to sickness in nursing workers

Descriptive exploratory study that analyzed medical certificates of up to 15 days off work presented by 994 nurses at a university hospital. The data source was the frequency system of the institution.

Results

Most workers were female, married and technical nurses. The average age was 41.9 years and a third worked in adult inpatient services. Of the 994 professionals, 645 had at least one sick day.

Conclusion

Absenteeism due to illness is complex and multifactorial. The factors associated with it were: age group, education, function, shift, time in the institution and workplace.

Nursing staff; Occupational health nursing; Nursing administration research; Working conditions; Absenteeism

Variables	Total days per absence	Only employees who presented certificates					Study sample
Variables	Total days per absence	n	Average	SD	Median	p-value	n	Average	SD	Median	p-value
Gender
Female	6,476	550	11.8	11.2	8	0.39	850	7.6	10.6	8.5	0.56
Male	1,018	95	10.7	10.0	8		144	7.1	9.5	8
Age group (Years)
20-29	533	58	9.2	9.8	7	0.14	120	4.4	8.2	0	0.0001
30-39	2,190	201	10.9	10.0	7		305	7.2	9.6	3
40-49	2,421	200	12.1	12.3	7.5		305	7.9	11.5	3
50-59	2,089	163	12.8	10.9	10		228	9.2	10.9	5
60-69	261	23	11.3	10.5	11		36	7.2	10.0	2.5
Marital status
Married	3,676	310	11.9	10.6	8	0.43	470	7.8	10.3	3	0.12
Divorced/Widowed	1,050	83	12.6	10.4	10		118	8.9	10.5	4.5
Single	2,768	252	11.0	11.6	7		406	6.8	10.6	2
Education
Elementary	405	25	16.2	10.8	15	0.02	29	14.0	11.5	13	0.00007
High School	4,798	397	12.1	11.0	8		593	8.1	10.7	3
College	2,291	223	10.3	10.8	7		372	6.2	9.7	2

Variables	Total days absent	Only employees who presented certificates					Study sample
Variables	Total days absent	n	Average	SD	Median	p-value	n	Average	SD	Median	p-value
Job
Nurse	1,728	162	10.7	11.0	7	0.02	273	6.3	10.0	2	0.0000
Technical nurse	4,980	435	11.4	10.5	8		664	7.5	10.1	3
Nursing assistant	786	48	16.4	13.8	14		57	13.8	14.0	11
Workplace
Nursing Department	80	6	13.3	13.1	10	0.90	20	4.0	9.2	0	0.0002
Surgery/Materials Center	1,548	124	12.5	11.8	7.5		165	9.4	11.6	5
Support and Diagnosis	647	49	13.2	13.0	10		82	7.9	12.0	2
Service
Outpatient Unit	837	70	12.0	10.6	10.5		92	9.1	10.5	5
Adult Inpatient Unit	2,654	229	11.6	11.0	8		345	7.7	10.5	2
Pediatric Nursing Unit	542	52	10.4	8.0	9		90	6.0	78.0	2
Emergency Unit	424	40	10.6	11.9	5.5		72	5.9	10.3	1.5
Intensive Care Unit	762	75	10.2	9.8	7		128	5.9	9.0	2
Shifts
Morning	1,764	152	11.6	10.3	8	0.56	251	7.0	9.8	2	0.04
Evening	1,050	102	10.3	11.7	6		180	5.8	10.1	1.5
Night	3,299	279	11.8	10.9	9		402	8.2	10.6	4
Administrative	1,381	112	12.3	11.5	9.5		161	8.6	11.1	4
Relationship
CLT	6,735	585	11.5	11.02	8	0.45	915	7.4	10.4	3	0.07
CLT retired	759	60	12.6	10.81	11		79	9.6	10.9	5
Time in the institution (Years)
0-4	1,466	151	9.7	9,9	7	0.1	288	5.1	8.6	1	0.0000
5-9	1,893	163	11.6	10,6	7		211	9.0	1.05	5
10-14	1,317	100	13.2	11,4	10		160	8.2	11.0	3
15-19	402	37	10.9	8,1	10		55	7.3	8.4	4
20-24	1,507	134	11.2	10,6	7		197	7.6	10.2	4
25-29	909	60	15.1	15,0	10		83	10.9	14.4	5

Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de São Paulo R. Napoleão de Barros, 754, 04024-002 São Paulo - SP/Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 11) 5576 4430 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: actapaulista@unifesp.br

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[1] Corresponding author: Eliete Boaventura Bargas. Vital Brasil street, 251, Campinas, SP, Brazil. Zip Code: 13083-888. elietebbz@gmail.com