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Health-Related Workplace Absenteeism Among Full-Time Workers — United States, 2017–18 Influenza Season
- Source :
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Centers for Disease Control MMWR Office, 2019.
-
Abstract
- During an influenza pandemic and during seasonal epidemics, more persons have symptomatic illness without seeking medical care than seek treatment at doctor's offices, clinics, and hospitals (1). Consequently, surveillance based on mortality, health care encounters, and laboratory data does not reflect the full extent of influenza morbidity. CDC uses a mathematical model to estimate the total number of influenza illnesses in the United States (1). In addition, syndromic methods for monitoring illness outside health care settings, such as tracking absenteeism trends in schools and workplaces, are important adjuncts to conventional disease reporting (2). Every month, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) monitors the prevalence of health-related workplace absenteeism among full-time workers in the United States using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) (3). This report describes the results of workplace absenteeism surveillance analyses conducted during the high-severity 2017-18 influenza season (October 2017-September 2018) (4). Absenteeism increased sharply in November, peaked in January and, at its peak, was significantly higher than the average during the previous five seasons. Persons especially affected included male workers, workers aged 45-64 years, workers living in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 6* and Region 9,† and those working in management, business, and financial; installation, maintenance, and repair; and production and related occupations. Public health authorities and employers might consider results from relevant absenteeism surveillance analyses when developing prevention messages and in pandemic preparedness planning. The most effective ways to prevent influenza transmission in the workplace include vaccination and nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands frequently, and routinely cleaning frequently touched surfaces (5).
- Subjects :
- Adult
Employment
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Health (social science)
Adolescent
Full-time
Epidemiology
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Psychological intervention
01 natural sciences
Occupational safety and health
Young Adult
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Health Information Management
Environmental health
Absenteeism
Influenza, Human
Pandemic
Health care
Prevalence
Humans
Medicine
Full Report
030212 general & internal medicine
0101 mathematics
Epidemics
Workplace
Pandemics
Human services
Aged
business.industry
Public health
010102 general mathematics
General Medicine
Middle Aged
Models, Theoretical
United States
Population Surveillance
Female
Seasons
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1545861X and 01492195
- Volume :
- 68
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f50de6aa6ddc191c438d00076ee18e98