Socio-demographic and work-related risk factors for medium- and long-term sickness absence among Italian workers.
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BACKGROUND: Few studies investigated determinants of sickness absence in representative samples of the general population, none of which in Italy. Aim of this study was to assess influence and relative importance of socio-demographic and work-related characteristics on medium- and long-term sickness absence in a random sample of Italian workers. METHODS: Approximately 60,000 workers participating in a national survey in 2007 were interviewed regarding sickness absence during the whole previous week, and on socio-demographics, employment characteristics and exposure to a set of physical and psychosocial hazards in the workplace. The association between sickness absence and potential determinants was estimated by multivariable logistic regression models stratified by gender. RESULTS: From the final multivariate models, in both genders sickness absence was statistically significantly associated with tenure employment, working in larger firms, exposure to risk of injury and to bullying or discrimination and, among employees, with shift work. In males, sickness absence was also associated with lower education, employment in the public administration and with exposure to noise or vibration, whereas among women also with manual work and ergonomic factors. In both genders, the attributable fraction for employment-related characteristics was higher than that for socio-demographic ones. CONCLUSIONS: The association with tenure or salaried jobs, and with employment in larger firms or in the public sector suggests that, besides illness, job security is the most important determinant of sickness absence, consistently with the results of previous studies. However, our results indicate that a reduction in exposure to workplace hazards may contribute to reduce absenteeism. (+info)
Effect of colleague and coworker abuse on family physicians in Canada.
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OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of physician-colleague and coworker abuse on family physicians in Canada. DESIGN: A mixed-methods, bilingual study that included surveys and telephone interviews. SETTING: Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Family physicians in active practice who were members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 2009. METHODS: Surveys were mailed to a random sample of family physicians (N = 3802), and 37 family physicians who had been abused in the past year participated in telephone interviews. MAIN FINDINGS: A total of 770 surveys (20%) were completed. A small number of respondents reported having been subjected to abuse by physician colleagues (9%) or coworkers (6%) in the previous month. Many of the respondents reported that the same physician colleagues or coworkers were repeat abusers. More than three-quarters (77%) of the physician-colleague abusers were men, whereas more than three-quarters (77%) of the other coworker abusers were women. Interviewed family physicians described feeling humiliated and unappreciated, and developed symptoms of anxiety or depression. As a result of the abuse, some family physicians terminated their employment or refused to work in certain environments. The most striking effect of this abuse was that respondents reported losing confidence in their professional abilities and skills. CONCLUSION: Although only a small number of family physicians experience abuse by physician colleagues and other coworkers, the effects can be considerable. Victims reported a loss of confidence in their clinical abilities and some subsequently were faced with mental health issues. (+info)
A brief overview of adolescent developmental problems in Hong Kong.
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