Conclusions
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to an increase in sickness absence among workers in a hospital setting. The nursing team, physiotherapists, and speech therapists were at greatest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Methods
A cross-sectional study with 1,229 workers at a University Hospital in the South of Brazil. Data were collected from absenteeism records for the period from September 2014 to December 2020 held in the Occupational Health Service database. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results
The mean sickness absenteeism rate was 3.25% and a significant increase was observed during the pandemic (5.10%) when compared to the pre-pandemic period (2.97%) (p = 0.02). During the pandemic, the mean number of sickness absence days was 2.03 times greater and the mean daily cost increased 2.49 times. Administrative assistants had the lowest relative risk (RR) of infection (RR: 0.5120; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.2628-0.9974). In turn, the nursing team (RR: 1.37; 95%CI 1.052-1.787), physiotherapists (RR: 1.7148; 95%CI 1.0434-2.8183), and speech therapists (RR: 2.7090; 95%CI 1.5550-4.7195) were at greatest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to an increase in sickness absence among workers in a hospital setting. The nursing team, physiotherapists, and speech therapists were at greatest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.