Indicators of sickness absence among public servants submitted to medical examinations at a federal university in western Pará, Brazil

Absenteeism due to sickness is characterized by the absence of the worker from their work activities due to health conditions that compromise their ability to perform their duties. This observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study aimed to identify the indicators of absenteeism due to sickness and accidents at work among public servants of a federal university located in the west of the state of Pará, Brazil. For this, data on sick leave granted by the medical experts of the Integrated Subsystem of Health Care of the Public Servants – Tapajós (SIASS Tapajós) were analyzed, in the period from January 2019 to December 2023. The prevalence of absenteeism due to sickness was 10.53% in the period studied. The frequency index was 16.73%, and the duration of absenteeism reached 52.62 days, with an average of 33.12 days per absence. The evaluation of absenteeism rates highlighted a higher prevalence among women, administrative technicians in education and public servants in the age group of 31 to 40 years. Accidents at work in the analyzed period affected 9 public servants, totaling 124 days, which corresponds to 0.41% of the total number of days of absence related to health. The prevalence of absenteeism due to accidents at work was 0.17%, with an average duration of 13.78 days. The variations identified in the indices for the years 2020 and 2021 suggest a possible relationship with the Covid-19 pandemic.