Ismail Halim, Huam Zhe Shen, Yew Sheng Qian, Ahmad Hanis, David Chan Chee Hoong, Baharudin Mohd Hafiz, Muhd Aris Nor Azila
Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2025 Feb 13;20(2):e0314763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314763. eCollection 2025.
Sickness absenteeism among the nurses in Malaysia is not fully understood. Complicated with the increase in workload and mental stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and the manifestation of long COVID-19 symptoms, there is a need for an updated insight on the prevalence and the risk factors of sickness absenteeism among nurses in Malaysia. As such, we designed a study protocol that assess the prevalence and risk factors of sickness absenteeism among nurses in Malaysia in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
This is a correlational cross-sectional study. The sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, sickness absenteeism questionnaire, job characteristics questionnaire, Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire (DCSQ), Work-Related Strain Inventory (WRSI), Work and Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS), the COVID-19-related workplace worries questionnaire, as well as the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DASS-21) questionnaire will be randomly distributed to 166 nurses from October 2024 to May 2025.
While physical illnesses, psychological disorders, job-related factors, and sociodemographic factors have been identified as risk factors to sickness absenteeism among healthcare professionals in general, the role of these risk factors in causing sickness absenteeism among the nurses remains unclear. Additionally, the increased stress and workload faced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, may have further impacted sickness absenteeism.
By examining the various risk factors of sickness absenteeism, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, this research will inform future targeted interventions to reduce sickness absenteeism among Malaysian nurses and its associated consequences.
马来西亚护士的病假缺勤情况尚未得到充分了解。在新冠疫情期间，工作量增加和精神压力增大，以及新冠后症状的出现，使得有必要对马来西亚护士病假缺勤的患病率和风险因素有新的认识。因此，我们设计了一项研究方案，以评估新冠疫情后时代马来西亚护士病假缺勤的患病率和风险因素。
这是一项相关性横断面研究。社会人口统计学和临床问卷、病假缺勤问卷、工作特征问卷、需求-控制-支持问卷（DCSQ）、工作相关压力量表（WRSI）、工作与家庭冲突量表（WAFCS）、与新冠疫情相关的工作场所担忧问卷，以及抑郁、焦虑和压力问卷（DASS-21）将于2024年10月至2025年5月随机分发给166名护士。
虽然身体疾病、心理障碍、工作相关因素和社会人口统计学因素已被确定为一般医疗保健专业人员病假缺勤的风险因素，但这些风险因素在导致护士病假缺勤方面的作用仍不清楚。此外，护士在新冠疫情期间面临的压力和工作量增加，以及新冠后急性综合征，可能进一步影响了病假缺勤情况。
通过研究病假缺勤的各种风险因素，特别是在新冠疫情后时代，本研究将为未来有针对性的干预措施提供信息，以减少马来西亚护士的病假缺勤及其相关后果。
