The monitoring of absenteeism-illness has revealed its high prevalence, and a strong relationship with work. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with absenteeism-illness among the rural workers in a timber company in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is an analytical cross-sectional study, carried out among 883 workers. The medical certificates issued in the company over one year were surveyed. For the analysis, use was made of descriptive statistics and bi- and multivariable analyses. The strength of association was measured by the odds ratio (OR) with help from logistic regression (p<0.05). A prevalence of 54% of medical certificates was found in the population. Bivariate analysis revealed an association between job (forestry assistant (OR=13.1), carpenter (OR=15) and chainsaw operator (OR=39.6)), length of service in the company, departments and length of schooling with absenteeism-illness. In the multi-variate analysis, the association between length of schooling and being a carpenter disappeared, while the other associations remained. It is concluded that there is important evidence about the occupational and demographic factors and absenteeism-illness among forestry workers.
Occupational Health; Absenteeism; Rural Workers
