Exploring nurse managers’ perceptions of nurses’ sickness absenteeism in a Governmental Academic Hospital in Lebanon

Abstract

Introduction: Sickness absenteeism among health care providers, especially nurses, remains a significant problem in an era of challenges to provide high quality care with the required skill mix. This in turn compromises the quality of care and adds to the costs of an organization. Knowing that Nurse Managers are at the forefront for handling this condition, we hereby aim to explore nurses’ sickness absenteeism from the perspective of Nurse Managers.Introduction: Sickness absenteeism among health care providers, especially nurses, remains a significant problem in an era of challenges to provide high quality care with the required skill mix. This in turn compromises the quality of care and adds to the costs of an organization. Knowing that Nurse Managers are at the forefront for handling this condition, we hereby aim to explore nurses’ sickness absenteeism from the perspective of Nurse Managers.Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Data was collected from a governmental academic hospital in Lebanon. In depth tape recorded interviews were conducted with a total of 20 Nurse Managers. Data were analyzed through a content analysis approach. The Institutional Review Board approval and that of the hospital administration were secured at the outset.Results: Three themes emerged as follows: theme I, system problems in nurses’ sickness management including two categories: sickness assessment and sick leave eligibility. Theme II, factors triggering nurses’ absenteeism including four categories: job, psychosocial, physical, and financial triggers. Theme III, factors mediating nurses’ absenteeism including five categories: interpersonal factors, human resources management, organizational factors, work characteristics, and intrapersonal factors. Nurses’ absenteeism conceptual framework was developed out of the emerged themes.Conclusion: Nurses’ sickness absenteeism is a significant problem in the health care organization under study, and system and operational improvement