This quantitative study was performed to research the rate of absenteeism of nursing professionals in a psychiatric center in Manaus, from January/2004 to January/2005, in the Human Resources sector of the institution. In this period, the records of workers who were absent from their professional activities for at least one day were checked. Results showed that there were 415 absence reports in the nursing team during the studied period, by 74.29% of nursing professionals. The average rate of absenteeism is 2.79. The main reason reported for absenteeism was illness. These data suggest further studies are needed in order to improve professionals' health, allowing for better quality of life, and, consequently, for providing better health care to Single Health System users.
absenteeism; nursing; occupational health
