Affiliations: Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare
(OHSAH) in BC, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Hasanat Alamgir PhD, Statistics and
Evaluation Director, Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare,
#301–1195 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3X5. Tel.: +1 778 328
8013; Fax: +1 778 328 8001; E-mail: hasanat@ohsah.bc.ca
Abstract: Objective: To determine the demographic and work characteristics of
healthcare workers who were more likely to take sickness absences from work in
British Columbia, Canada. Methods: Payroll data were analyzed for three
health regions. Sickness absence rates were determined per person-year and then
compared across demographic and work characteristics using multivariate Poisson
regression models. The direct costs to the employer due to sickness absences
were also estimated. Results: Female, older, full-time workers, long-term
care workers and those with a lower hourly wage were more likely to take
sickness absences and had similar trends with respect to the costs due to
sickness absence. For occupations, licensed practical nurses, care aides and
facility support workers had higher rates of sickness absence. Registered
nurses, and those workers paid high hourly wages were associated with highest
sickness related costs. Conclusion: It is important to understand the
demographic and work characteristics of those workers who are more likely to
take sickness absences in order to make sure that they are not experiencing
additional hazards at work or facing detrimental workplace conditions. Policy
makers need to establish healthy, safe and in turn more productive workplaces.
Further research is needed on how interventions can reduce sickness
absence.
Keywords: Sick leave, occupational health, health care sector
