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PubMed1986

[Absenteeism as a predictor of severe morbidity. A double case-control study (myocardial infarction and industrial accident) in a large company of the Quebec Province].

Are absenteeism indicators usefull as predictor of serious morbidity in a working population? To seek an answer was the objective of a double case-control study carried out in a large company (17000 workers) of Quebec Province. In the first study, 64 cases of myocardial infarction (incidence density = 1.66% +/- 0.35) were compared with 64 controls matched for sex, age and type of work. In the second one, 142 cases of labor accident were compared with 142 controls sampled in a similar way. Absenteeism frequency and length were analysed during the period of 6 to 12 years prior to the onset of the health problem. Ratios were calculated on an individual basis for all causes of absence and for sick leave; they were adjusted for length of service. A four classes interval scale was used for the comparison. An excess of absence length exists in the two studies. The excess is not significant for the myocardial infarction cases (+ 33%, with a statistical power = 51%). It is significant for the labor accident cases (+ 52%, p less than 0.01). The corresponding odds ratio calculated in reference to the lowest absence group were 2.4 (0.9-6.6) and 2.7 (1.5-4.9). The cumulative absence length can be considered as a predictor of serious disease. A conceptual framework of the relationship between absence and natural disease history is presented. The epidemiological approach to the phenomenon of absence is certainly usefull in spite of the controversy underlined by the social sciences.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1978

Controlling absenteeism can help curb hospitals' costs.

Absenteeism involves costs associated with sick pay, overtime pay, decreased employee productivity, and less effective patient care. Hospital management and supervisors must minimize absenteeism and its costs by thoroughly recording and evaluating employees' attendance patterns, counseling and disciplining employees when necessary, and applying policies on attendance with consistency.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1980

Living placement and absenteeism in community-based training programs.

A survey of client absenteeism in community-based training facilities was conducted. Results indicated that clients who resided with their natural parents were absent more frequently than were clients who resided in community living facilities. In addition, absenteeism was not related to level of intellectual functioning or to age. Sex differences approached significance as female clients were found to be absent more often than were male clients; however, the duration of the absences was shorter, resulting in no significant difference between sexes in total days absent.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1995

Absenteeism in acute care hospitals.

Lack of standardization in formulas for calculating absenteeism impeded comparison among institutions and comparison to rates reported for the health care industry. Even though illness related benefits, replacement costs for absent employees and attendance incentives absorbed scarce financial resources, more than 40% of hospitals had no standard for excessive absence. Directors of nursing were concerned about staffing and the possibility that employees were tiring to the point of becoming ill. Among directors, concern about absenteeism was greatest in urban hospitals of 100-200 beds.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1994

[Magnitude and declared causes of absenteeism for health reasons among faculty and students of a medical school].

All sick leaves during 1989 among academics and students of a Faculty of Medicine were analyzed. Twenty three percent of academics and 60.5% of students had at least one sick leave during the year. The mean general rate of absenteeism among academics was 3.55% (1.6% among men and 8.09% among women). The mean length of sick leaves was 13.5 days. Eighteen percent of lost working days were due to pregnancy, lactation or care needs of less than one year children. Tumors, trauma, respiratory, digestive and mental illnesses accounted for 72.8% of lost working days. Medical students had a mean general absenteeism rate of 2.66% (ranging between 1.8% among male sixth year and 4.8% among female fourth year students). Mean length of sick leaves was 3.5 days (ranging from 2.98 among female fifth year and 6.7 among male sixth year students). Respiratory, digestive and infectious diseases accounted for 74% of lost days. No sick leaves were observed, due to pregnancy or lactation among students or due to occupational diseases among academics.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1994

Patient outcomes. Are they linked to registered nurse absenteeism, separation, or work load?

Using a correlation design, the authors explored the possible associations between patient outcomes and staff registered nurse absenteeism, separation from the work unit, and work load. Data analysis included a search for consistent patterns of relationships across acute care hospitals and over time. Nosocomial urinary tract and bloodstream infections correlated positively with absenteeism. The authors discuss clinical and methodological issues related to the findings.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1993

Work absenteeism in type 2 diabetes mellitus: results of the prospective Diabetes Intervention Study.

Newly diagnosed mild Type 2 diabetic patients, aged 30-55 years, were included in the prospective, multi-centre Diabetes Intervention Study. They were randomly allotted to either an intervention group receiving intensified health education or to a control group on usual care. This paper reports the incidence, duration of and causes for absence from work due to any disease in the patients who were working during the first 5-year follow-up. Data from 817 patients could be taken into account. 14.5% of the intervention patients and 17.3% of the control patients had never been on the sick list. Those patients who had undergone intensified health education were listed sick less often. Women showed a higher work absenteeism in either group; they had higher blood pressure and higher body mass index at entry. Cardiovascular diseases and musculo-skeletal disorders were major reasons for absence from work. However, when compared to the general population, these Type 2-diabetic patients were approximately four times more often on the sick list. Thus, the health education programme of the Diabetes Intervention Study was shown to be effective with respect to work absenteeism. Teaching patients is recommended as an important part of the therapeutic regimen.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1993

Elements of a comprehensive absenteeism control program: role of the occupational health nurse.

Absence from work costs American companies more than $40 billion annually. Absenteeism control programs can be cost effective, but relatively few companies in the U.S. seem to have comprehensive programs. Key elements in a comprehensive program include return to work opportunities, careful job design, standards for expected times off, clear administrative responsibility for communicating with absent employees and health care providers, and an effective information system. Perhaps the most important factor in a successful program is employee centered management and a corporate philosophy that views employees as assets. The occupational health nurse is ideally suited by education, knowledge, and job function to lead the design and management of a comprehensive absenteeism control program.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1997

[Communication between treating physician and occupational physician in the management of absenteeism].

In case of an employee's absenteeism, both the treating physician and the company doctor possess relevant medical information. With a view to reducing absenteeism, exchange of data is considered important. Provision of data requires the consent of the patient/employee. If the latter is informed of the purpose for which the data are requested and of how they will be used, medical professional secrecy is not violated. In order to enhance the exchange of data between treating physician and company doctor, without bypassing the requirement of consent or cancelling the division between treatment and checking, the treating physician should be permitted to provide more information than just the data asked for in specific questions. This however requires the development of guidelines for careful consultation.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1998

[From absenteeism to work incapacity; changed role of physicians involved].

Hardly any part of the legal regulations on absenteeism and incapacity for work has remained unchanged since 1993 in the Netherlands. The system is becoming increasingly complicated. The essence of the changes is that employers' responsibility has greatly increased. The new regulations mean a transition from industrial health care to Factories Act services and from the industrial insurance board to implementing organs. The legislator emphasizes the evaluation of what people with health disorders are still able to do. Prevention of absenteeism/ incapacity for work and reintegration are given great attention. Treating physicians should not let the complicated regulations keep them from fulfilling their tasks concerning sick employees, since it is increasingly in the patient's interest that chronicity be prevented whenever possible.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed2003

Shame-inducing encounters. Negative emotional aspects of sickness-absentees' interactions with rehabilitation professionals.

There is little knowledge on how sickness absentees experience encounters with rehabilitation professionals. This paper explores and describes negative emotions ("shame" in a broad sense) experienced by individuals on sick leave in their interactions with rehabilitation professionals. We performed a qualitative analysis of data from five focus-group interviews. The participants had experience of sickness absence with back diagnoses and discussed factors that facilitate or impede return to work. Reports of demeaning experiences in encounters with rehabilitation workers were frequent and could be divided into two major categories: 1) subjects perceived the behavior of rehabilitation professionals as distanced in a negative way, and felt that they were treated in an indifferent and nonchalant manner or fairly routinely; 2) subjects felt that they were disqualified, which included being discredited or belittled. This explorative study indicates the need for further, more directed investigations of emotional aspects of interactions between sickness absentees and rehabilitation professionals.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Use of health-care services, work absenteeism, leisure-time physical activity, musculoskeletal symptoms and physical performance after vocationally oriented medical rehabilitation-description of the courses and a one-and-a-half-year follow-up study with farmers, loggers, police officers and hairdressers.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of vocationally oriented medical rehabilitation (VOMR) carried out in institutions with regard to the use of health-care services, work absenteeism, leisure-time physical activity, musculoskeletal symptoms and physical performance during 112 years of follow-up. The prospective cohort study consisted of 265 patients from four different occupational groups (loggers, hairdressers, police officers and female farmers) who took part in VOMR courses in three inhouse phases, financed by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution, and who had chronic musculoskeletal symptoms in their back and neck. The subjective physical and mental strain of work, subjective neck-shoulder and low-back pain, use of health-care services and leisure-time physical activity were assessed with a questionnaires. The muscle strength of the upper and lower extremities and trunk was determined and maximal VO2 was measured using the direct maximal bicycle ergometer test. The subjective physical and mental strain of work, subjective neck-shoulder and low-back pain and physical performance showed positive significant development and improvement. The changes in the use of health-care services and work absenteeism were minor or insignificant. The general finding was that the results from the second phase of the VOMR courses did not differ from those of the third phase. VOMR courses had a beneficial effect on physical performance and subjective pain caused by neck and back musculoskeletal diseases of farmers, loggers, police officers and hairdressers within 112 years of follow-up, but VOMR courses did not decreased the use of health-care services.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Health-related quality of life, psychosocial work conditions, and absenteeism in an industrial sample of blue- and white-collar employees: a comparison of potential predictors.

PROBLEM: There is a scarcity of data simultaneously evaluating the relationship of health behavior, health perception, work characteristics, and demographic variables with sickness absenteeism in industrial employees. METHOD: Predictors and possible confounders (smoking, physical activity, alcohol intake, age, gender, body mass index, income) were regressed against frequency indices and the time lost index derived from the day-to-day absence data of 1524 employees at a manufacturing plant in Germany. Frequency indices were the number of sick-leave spells of 1, 2-3, 4-5, and >5 days within 1 year. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Effort-reward imbalance, lack of support by supervisors or coworkers, negative affectivity, exhaustion, and impaired health perception were significantly associated with absence spells and the time lost index. Job demands and job control as well as overcommitment were unrelated to absenteeism indices. Multivariate models suggest mediation through impaired health-related quality of life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

Can School-Based Health Services Reduce Absenteeism and Dropping Out of School?

Studies have shown that a high school diploma, and preferably some post-high school education, is essential to economic success for most individuals in American society today. With large numbers of adolescents having excessive absenteeism or dropping out of school, programs are being developed to address these issues. The author examines what is known about the impact of health on absenteeism and dropping out, and the effects of programs that have tried to address these problems.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Low back pain: predictors of absenteeism, residual symptoms, functional impairment, and medical costs in Oregon workers' compensation recipients.

BACKGROUND: Wide variations in disability duration and magnitude have been noted among recipients of workers' compensation for low back pain. Findings from recent studies have indicated that inclusion of a broad array of variables (i.e., physical, occupation, social, economic) is needed to understand differences in workers' responses to occupational low back pain. METHODS: Workers' compensation and questionnaire data from 340 Oregon workers with low back claims were merged to develop multivariate models predicting: (1) absenteeism days, (2) residual symptoms, (3) functional impairment, and (4) medical costs. RESULTS: Forty-two percent of the variation in low back symptoms was explained by: discontinuing physical fitness activities post-injury (beta = -.419), self-reported low energy/high fatigue (beta = -.227), poorer general health (beta = .137), and attorney involvement in claim (beta = .117), (adjusted R2 = .418, p < 0.001). Survival curves revealed significantly longer claim durations among workers who discontinued physical fitness activities post-injury, compared with workers who did not; these differences remained significant even after controlling for severity of the initial injury. CONCLUSION: Continuation of physical fitness activities during the recovery process was found to be a significant predictor in three of four regression models, providing evidence on behalf of a relationship between fitness and positive health outcomes. However, it was not possible to clearly differentiate pre-morbid from post-injury fitness, nor to determine if this relationship was due to a therapeutic effect on the back, the general restorative benefits of remaining active, or represents a proxy variable for workers' self-care efforts during recovery.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1986

Retrospective study regarding absenteeism among shiftworkers.

A retrospective study on absenteeism was conducted over 24 months among 1354 shiftworkers in the heavy sheet stamping sections of three automative plants located in the Greater São Paulo area. The schedule of the shifts was organised on a semi-continuous basis as follows: 3-fixed shifts, 3-fortnightly rotating shifts, 1 evening-night and 2 months rotating shifts. During the period of the study, 29 and 58% of the workers were on the job for less than 1 and 2 years respectively). On two shift schedules (1 evening-night shift and 2 monthly rotating shifts) the time on the job appeared as an important variable inversely proportional to the frequency of the unjustified absences. Age was also related inversely with sickness and unjustified absences on two others shift schedules: 3 fixed and 3 fortnightly shifts. The 3 fixed shift schedule had the highest sickness ratio frequency compared with the other three systems. On the 1 evening-night shift the unjustified absence frequency rate was higher than on 3 fixed shifts and fortnightly rotating shifts. The analysis of all data considering only the work periods showed that unjustified absence rates were higher in the evening than in the afternoon and night. The morning and afternoon work periods showed higher sickness absence rates than evening and night. Unjustified absences (3031 spells) represented more serious problems than sickness absences (1601 spells) at the plants studied, although the number of days lost per sickness (7505) were higher than unjustified absences (4702).

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1990

[Work absenteeism data--a source of information for epidemiological research in occupational risks?].

The usefulness of data on absence from work due to sickness (absenteeism) as an indicator of specific and detailed information of diagnoses is widely discussed in the international literature. In occupational health indicators for health risks (e g sickness absence of more than 14 days), details on diagnosis and workplace are very useful, if analysed by epidemiological means. A pilot project, initiated by a high sickness absence in the automobile industry, led to a test of an industrial health information system, which was abruptly stopped by data protection arguments. The epidemiologic approach of an age-adjusted comparison of incidences relies on the access to morbidity data of the health insurance system. With the diagnostic information at hand differences of incidences in one production branch (as recognized by the incidence ratio SIR) are to be discovered if related to certain specific diagnoses. Thus, a direct comparison of comparable rates helps to identify specific reasons for increased absence from work. Practical solutions were found if the owner of the data, the National Federation of Enterprise Sickness Funds, conducted the analyses. First results showed as yet unknown associations of myocardial infarction and obstructive lung diseases in the metallurgical industry. In such cases not only the validity of such results has to be verified, but also other epidemiological tools, such as a case-referent approach to determine risk ratios, are required for the identification of any causally important relationship.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1982

[Typology of psychosocial causes related to absenteeism due to illness].

This study is concerned with theoretical considerations relating to the psychosocial factors involved in absenteeism caused by illness. A model has been constructed, based on the recognition that personality, the surroundings at work, small groups as well as societal influences act upon the individual and his behaviour at the place of work. Failure to adapt at the working place increases the risk of absence due to illness. The immediate circumstances leading to absence are also analyzed. The model should be operationalized and tested empirically.

Absenteeism↗