Sickness absenteeism in a Nigerian teaching hospital

The sickness absence records of employees in a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria were examined over a period of three years. The health records of the hospital workers showed a preponderance of junior and intermediate workers. An overall proportion of absentee workers was 15.8% with an average of 3 spells of sickness per year per absentee while the duration of sickness per absentee was 5.6 days per year. The younger employees less than 35 years of age and those with short duration of employment with the hospital have significantly higher spells and duration of sickness absence than others. While a lower spell of sickness and duration of sickness absence were observed among nurses, senior employees especially doctors had no records of sickness absenteeism in any of the 3 years of study.