Health care workers are 1.5 times more likely to be absent from work due to illness or injury and they are generally less satisfied with their jobs than other workers, a new report indicates.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report reveals that 7.2% of Canadians in full-time health care occupations were absent for health reasons during each week in 2000, compared with 4.8% of workers in other fields. On average, Canada's health care workers are absent from work 11.8 days a year, other workers 6.7 days.
If the 2 rates were the same, says the report, it would put more than 13 700 “extra” full-time health care workers on the job. It would also help address the nursing shortage by providing the equivalent of almost 5500 extra nurses.
A major cause of the higher absenteeism rate, particularly among the country's 232 000 registered nurses, is musculoskeletal injuries such as back ailments. Other hazards include needle-stick injuries and exposure to chemicals and other irritants. Physical and mental abuse is also a serious problem.
The report also determined that health care workers are less satisfied with their jobs than other Canadians. Ninety percent of Canadians working outside the health care field were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs in 1999, compared with 85% of health workers. Whether job satisfaction and higher absenteeism are linked is a subject for further research, says Jennifer Zelmer, CIHI's director of health reports and analysis. The report, Canada's Health Care Providers, points to a healthy job market for health care workers. Rates have ranged from 1.3% to 2.6% during the past 13 years, compared with 7% to 11% for the rest of the workforce.