The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on sickness absenteeism among hospital workers.

Introduction: Worker illness and, more recently, infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can manifest as sickness absence, considerably increasing absenteeism rates, which were already rising. Objectives: To determine the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on sickness absence rates among hospital workers and on the costs associated with them. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 1,229 workers at a University Hospital in the South of Brazil. Data were collected from absenteeism records for the period from September 2014 to December 2020 held in the Occupational Health Service database. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean sickness absenteeism rate was 3.25% and a significant increase was observed during the pandemic (5.10%) when compared to the pre-pandemic period (2.97%) (p = 0.02). During the pandemic, the mean number of sickness absence days was 2.03 times greater and the mean daily cost increased 2.49 times. Administrative assistants had the lowest relative risk (RR) of infection (RR: 0.5120; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.2628-0.9974). In turn, the nursing team (RR: 1.37; 95%CI 1.052-1.787), physiotherapists (RR: 1.7148; 95%CI 1.0434-2.8183), and speech therapists (RR: 2.7090; 95%CI 1.5550-4.7195) were at greatest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to an increase in sickness absence among workers in a hospital setting. The nursing team, physiotherapists, and speech therapists were at greatest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Absenteeism-disease in health care workers in a hospital context in southern Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Absenteeism is a pervasive and growing worldwide problem. In hospital settings, it is often associated with a fast-paced environment, shift work and high occupational demands. Absenteeism in hospitals can also be attributed to poor working conditions and the high emotional burden associated with daily exposure to illness and death. These conditions often lead to sickness absence. OBJECTIVES: To assess sickness absence among health care workers in hospital settings. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted using the data and medical records of health care workers in a hospital in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The data covered the period of September 2014 to December 2018. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 559 workers, 233 of whom were absent for at least 1 day in the year. Sickness absence was most common among women (79%) and nursing technicians (45.5%). The mean duration of absence was 5.53 days (standard deviation: 20.42), and the sickness absence rate was 2.01%. The most common reasons for sickness absence were injury, poisoning and other consequences of external causes (20.19%), followed by mental and behavioral disorders (17.90%) and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (11.69%). CONCLUSIONS: Greater awareness of the factors associated with sickness absence in hospital settings can contribute to the planning of occupational health initiatives targeting the most vulnerable workers.