ArticleLa Medicina del lavoro2025
COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Sickness Absences Among Healthcare Workers: A Cohort Study in a Spanish Hospital (2018-2023).
Article in La Medicina del lavoro, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trajectories of sickness absence in healthcare workers: a cohort study in a Spanish hospital between 2018 and 2023.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Nationwide Patterns and Predictors of Sick Leave Among Healthcare Workers in Kuwait, 2022.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Trends of non-lethal intentional self-harm and suicide in Spain 2018-2023: a nationwide registry-based study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundLike other European systems, the Spanish national health system (NHS) is reaching a critical point. This article analyses sickness absence (SA) trends, as a direct indicator of this crisis, among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Spain, comparing the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods.
methodsThis study was based on a retrospective cohort of HCWs (n=7.918) hired at Hospital del Mar in Barcelona for at least three months during 2018-2023. The primary outcome was incident SA episodes. Incidence rates (IR) per 1,000 persons-day and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated by sex, period, and occupational variables. Longitudinal entropy regression models were estimated to identify the factors influencing the frequency of transitions between the different HCWs' employment states (active or on SA).
resultsIncreasing trends in IR (95%CI) were observed, rising from 1.77 (1.71; 1.83) episodes of SA per 1,000 workers-day during the pre-pandemic period to 5.04 (4.93; 5.15) during the post-pandemic among women, and from 1.23 (1.14; 1.31) to 3.79 (3.64; 3.95), respectively, among men. Nurses, nurse aides, orderlies/technicians, workers under 30, and those in intensive care units and emergency rooms showed the highest IR during and after the pandemic, with longitudinal entropy analysis revealing increased state changes, primarily affecting these groups.
conclusionsThis study demonstrates a significant rise in SA incidence among HCWs during and after the pandemic and identifies vulnerable groups with higher incidence. Several hypotheses, such as poor working conditions, burnout, and patient complexity, have been suggested to explain these results. Urgent interventions are needed to safeguard HCWs' health, thus maintaining the sustainability and safety of the NHS.
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