Six Years of Sick Leave Spells in a Group of University Civil Workers. Can Modern Work Bring Them a New Health Problem?

Adriano Dias, João Marcos Bernardes, Miriam Malacize Fantazia, Carlos Ruiz-Frutos and Juan Gómez-Salgado
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Adriano Dias: Public Health Grade Program, Botucatu Medical School, Paulista State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo 18618687, Brazil
João Marcos Bernardes: Public Health Grade Program, Botucatu Medical School, Paulista State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo 18618687, Brazil
Miriam Malacize Fantazia: Public Health Grade Program, Botucatu Medical School, Paulista State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo 18618687, Brazil
Carlos Ruiz-Frutos: Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
Juan Gómez-Salgado: Department of Nursing, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: The objective of this study is to analyse sick leave episodes of a university’s collective of statutory workers in the State of São Paulo, between January 2010 and December 2015. For this, a descriptive study analysed 5776 registered spells of sick leave of four university units: agricultural sciences; human health, health and animal reproduction, and biological sciences; an administrative unit; and a university hospital. The medical expert assessment was carried out by general practitioners and psychiatrists who managed sick leave and return to work cases. Around 52% had up to three sick leave episodes, and 10% of the workers had 20 or more episodes. Each spell of sickness absence lasted a median of 30 days (IQR 8–60 days). Among all of sick leaves, 35% had as a primary cause mental or behavioural diseases, of which 30% were depressive disorders, followed by around 18% related to the musculoskeletal system and the connective tissues. In the medical reports, 80% of the workers reported pain and 30% reported psychological symptoms. The collective, seen as privileged by many for their job stability, has a high percentage of sick leave due to mental illness, with extended periods which affect the levels of disability and reduce possibilities of return.

Keywords: sickness absence; public workers; university; psychosocial work environment; occupational health; health workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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