Abstract
BACKGROUND: To describe the profile and indicators of sickness absence for civil servants allocated to the 18 public health units of a Federal District (Brasilia) Health Region, Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of all sick leaves longer than 3 days granted in 2014. Sickness absence indicators were calculated and analyzed per sex, marital status, age, educational level, professional category, length in the job, working hours and workplace. RESULTS: The analyzed population (n=2,501) was granted 2,205 sick leaves in total, corresponding to 40,755 missed work days. The prevalence of sickness absence was 39%, the leave frequency index 88%, the severity index 16 days, the average sickness absence length 42 days, and the average length of leaves 18 days. More than 85% of the missed work days corresponded to workers with recurrence of sickness absence. Mental and behavioral disorders and musculoskeletal diseases were the main causes of sick leave. CONCLUSION: Planning health actions demands accurate knowledge of the characteristics and morbidity profile of this population of workers. The results of the present study express the magnitude of sickness absence in the public health sector, and point to the need for thorough change in the organization of the work process and innovative interventions in the workplace.