COVID-19-Related work absenteeism among students and employees in Canadian Dental Universities
H. Feguery. 2nd year MSc Dental Sciences, P. Allison, S. Madathil
Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, 污污草莓视频 University
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the dental workforce, including trainees, was considered at high risk for COVID-19 infection. Studies of effects of the pandemic on the health care workforce suggest that women in general faced a greater burden during the pandemic. However, few studies have assessed work-related absenteeism among those working in dental schools, particularly with a focus on gender-related differences.
Objectives: To estimate differences in days lost from work in Canadian dental schools during the COVID-19 pandemic by gender and work role (trainee vs employee).
Methods: Data from 600 participants in a cohort study across 10 Canadian dental schools (April 2021-May 2022) were analyzed. Data were collected using monthly, self-report, online questionnaires. To control for differing numbers of days of follow-up across study participants, days off work were calculated as a proportion of follow-up days for each participant. Preliminary analyses included Pearson's correlation and group comparisons. Multivariable Poisson or negative binomial regression analysis will be performed adjusting for covariates and controlling for follow-up duration with an offset.
Results:聽Participants had a mean age 36 years, 66.8% were women and 52.5% were students. They took a mean proportion of 0.06 days off work, which represents 14.4 days off work per 240-day work year. Age correlated positively with days off work (r = 0.1176; p < 0.0001). There was no substantial difference in the mean proportion of days by gender, with men and women taking a mean proportion of 0.0570 (13.68 days/year) and 0.0554 (13.30 days/year), respectively. However, differences were noted by dental school role (employee, student), with employees taking a mean proportion of 0.0642 (15.41 days/year) and students taking 0.0403 (9.67 days/year).
Conclusions: The preliminary analyses in our study reveal that there were no differences in the mean proportion of days off by gender, but there were differences by role in the dental school. These need to be confirmed with multivariate analyses.
Key words: COVID-19, absenteeism, gender, role at dental school.