Analysis of sickness absenteeism in a public university: a temporal statistical study

Due to the dynamic nature of work and the establishment of new universities in different locations with unique characteristics, researching the illnesses affecting their staff and their potential impact on working life is necessary.

To analyze the occurrence of sickness absenteeism among employees of a public university from 2013 to 2022.

This ecological, descriptive, retrospective study adopted a quantitative approach and was conducted using data on sick leave among employees of a Brazilian university from 2013 to 2022. Based on these data, indicators were calculated to measure absenteeism. Descriptive and analytical statistics were applied, using the chi-square test. The study was approved by the institution's research ethics committee.

During the study period, 1,010 sick leave cases were identified, totaling 26,406 days of absenteeism, indicating a growing trend, with peaks in 2019 and 2022 (p-value < 0.0168; correlation coefficient: 0.53). Fluctuations were observed in the difference-index-years and difference-frequency-years indicators between 2014-2015 and 2019-2020, along with a decrease in the duration index of sickness absenteeism. Approximately 68.02% of absences occurred among women, and 70.60% among employees performing administrative activities. Regarding the profile of illnesses, absences were most frequent in category 4 - diseases affecting the sensory organs (33.60%; n = 339; p < 0.000) and category 3 - psychological and neurological disorders (27.55%; n = 278; p < 0.000).

Over the study period, levels of sickness absenteeism showed a tendency to increase, which highlights the need for greater institutional attention to employee health.