Does evening work predict sickness absence among female carers of the elderly?

Abstract

Objectives The aim of the present study was to predict the risk ratio of sickness absence lasting ≥2 weeks due to shift work among Danish workers caring for the elderly during the evening and at night. Methods A sample of Danish carers of the elderly were interviewed in 2005. The response rate was 78%. A cohort of 5627 shift and day workers was followed for sickness absence lasting ≥2 weeks and for sickness absence lasting ≥8 weeks in a sickness compensation register covering all social transfer payments in Denmark. Results Among the evening workers, the rate ratio (RR) of sickness absence lasting ≥2 weeks was 1.29 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.10-1.52). The rate ratio for sickness absence lasting ≥8 weeks was 1.24 (95% CI 0.99-1.56). Conclusions Evening work may cause long-term sickness absence lasting ≥2 weeks.

Measures to counteract the negative effects of night work

“…Although not all studies have linked shift and night work with increased sickness absence (34,35), the vast majority of studies have shown that shift work is a risk factor for sickness absence (36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Seen strictly from a health perspective, night work should therefore be avoided.…”

Skiftarbeid og sykefravær blant sykepleiere

“…Sykepleierne rapporterer også at forbedring av skiftordningene kan vaere en viktig metode for å få ned sykefravaeret for yrkesgruppen (13). En studie fra Island (14) viste ingen forskjeller i sykefravaer blant sykepleiere som jobbet turnus eller dagskift, mens man i en dansk studie (15) vaer med varighet over to uker sammenliknet med kontrollgruppe i fast dagskift. Alt i alt er det få studier som tar for seg relasjonen mellom sykefravaer og forskjellige skiftordninger i helsesektoren, og konklusjonene er inkonsistente (16).…”

“…Dette samsvarer med funnene i en dansk studie som har funnet økt sykefravaer blant kvinnelige helsearbeidere i eldreomsorgen som arbeider kveldsskift (15). Den danske studien er imidlertid ikke helt sammenliknbar med vår, da de her sammenliknet dagarbeidere og ettermiddagsskiftarbeidere.…”

Sickness Absence at Work and Supporting Being Present At Work, Among Employees Working Different Shifts in the Forest Industry

“…In a review study, Saksvik et al (2011) showed that adaptation to shift work was related to characteristics of the individual; for example, young age, male gender, high scores for flexibility and extraversion were association with higher shift work tolerance [14]. Prospective cohort and cross-sectional studies have shown that shift work is also associated with sickness absence and work ability [12,[15][16][17][18].…”

“…The research results on the links between different shift work schedules and sickness absences ranging from strong connection [12,15,[18][19][20] and or no links [16,17]. In addition, previous studies have focused more on health care workers [16][17][21][22] to the relative neglect of the industrial sector [ 8,18].…”