A Longitudinal Study on Trajectories of Night Work and Sickness Absence among Hospital Employees

Oxana Krutova, Aki Koskinen, Laura Peutere, Jenni Ervasti, Marianna Virtanen, Mikko Härmä and Annina Ropponen
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Oxana Krutova: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Aki Koskinen: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Laura Peutere: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Jenni Ervasti: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Marianna Virtanen: School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Eastern Finland, 80101 Joensuu, Finland
Mikko Härmä: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Annina Ropponen: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-9

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate trajectories of night shift work in irregular shift work across a 12-year follow-up among hospital employees with and without sickness absence (SA). The payroll-based register data of one hospital district in Finland included objective working hours and SA from 2008 to 2019. The number of night shifts per year was used in group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM). The results indicate that, among those who had any sickness absence episodes, the amount of night work decreased prior to the first SA. In general, trajectories of night shift work varied from stably high to low-but-increasing trajectories in terms of the number of shifts. However, a group with decreasing pattern of night work was identified only among those with sickness absence episodes but not among those without such episodes. To conclude, the identified trajectories of night work with or without sickness absences may indicate that, among those with sickness absence episodes, night work was reduced due to increasing health problems. Hence, the hospital employees working night shifts are likely a selected population because the employees who work at night are supposed to be healthier than those not opting for night work.

Keywords: night shift work; sickness absence; trajectory analysis; longitudinal; health care; employees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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