Absenteeism in a nursing staff of a hospital environment

Abstract

The following paper presents an integrative review that aimed to identify what has been produced in the scientific literature on absenteeism in the nursing staff in hospitals. In October 2010 a search was carried out in the Database of Nursing, Scientific Electronic Library Online and Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences for papers with the association between the descriptors absenteeism and nursing. They were analyzed by categories. The results displayed that the causes are related to respiratory and musculoskeletal conditions, family problems, and working accidents. Professional category of technicians and assistants, specialized care units and statutory employment contract are characteristics of the greater frequency of withdrawal. The absenteeism rate found in the studies varied between 2.06 to 2.79 for the nursing staff. It was concluded that the assessment of absenteeism in the hospital, besides providing information about the workers health and occupational hazards, can help to identify working conditions that lead to illness of the nursing staff. Thus, the recognition of the circumstances surrounding the absenteeism is an important tool to evaluate occupational health and adopt preventive measures to benefit the quality of care.