Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T05:25:09.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Exploring National Surveillance for Health-Related Workplace Absenteeism: Lessons Learned From the 2009 Influenza A Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2013

Matthew R. Groenewold ,
Doris L. Konicki ,
Sara E. Luckhaupt ,
Ahmed Gomaa  and
Lisa M. Koonin
Matthew R. Groenewold*
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Doris L. Konicki
Affiliation:
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, USA
Sara E. Luckhaupt
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Ahmed Gomaa
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Lisa M. Koonin
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Matthew R. Groenewold, PhD, MSPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, 4676 Columbia Pkwy, MS R-17, Cincinnati, OH 45226 (e-mail: gyr5@cdc.gov).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

During the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a pilot study to test the feasibility of using national surveillance of workplace absenteeism to assess the pandemic's impact on the workplace to plan for preparedness and continuity of operations and to contribute to health awareness during the emergency response.

Methods

Population-based and sentinel worksite approaches were used. Monthly measures of the 1-week prevalence of health-related absenteeism among full-time workers were estimated using nationally representative data from the Current Population Survey. Enhanced passive surveillance of absenteeism was conducted using weekly data from a convenience sample of sentinel worksites.

Results

Nationally, the pandemic's impact on workplace absenteeism was small. Estimates of 1-week absenteeism prevalence did not exceed 3.7%. However, peak workplace absenteeism was correlated with the highest occurrence of both influenza-like illness and influenza-positive laboratory tests.

Conclusions

Systems for monitoring workplace absenteeism should be included in pandemic preparedness planning. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;0:1–7)

Keywords

surveillanceabsenteeisminfluenzahuman
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 160 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overview of influenza surveillance in the United States. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/overview.htm. Published October 7, 2011. Accessed December 30, 2011.Google Scholar
2.Patterson, B, Caddis, R, Durrheim, D. Use of workplace absenteeism surveillance data for outbreak detection. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17:1963-1964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Caddis, R, Paterson, B. The swine flu pandemic outbreak 2009: comparison of syndromic surveillance data to company recorded sickness absence. Poster presented at: Society of Occupational Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting; June 6-9, 2010; Edinburgh, Scotland.Google Scholar
4.Mann, P, O'Connell, E, Zhang, G, etal. Alert system to detect possible school-based outbreaks of influenza-like illness. Emerg Infect Dis [published online February 2011]. doi: 10.3201/eid1702.100496.Google Scholar
5.Kara, E, Elliot, A, Bagnall, H, etal. Absenteeism in schools during the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic: a useful tool for early detection of influenza activity in the community? Epidemiol Infect. 2010;138:1126-1134.Google Scholar
6.Savage, R, Chu, A, Rosella, L, etal. Perceived usefulness of syndromic surveillance in Ontario during the H1N1 pandemic. J Public Health (Oxf). 2012;34(2):195-202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Besculides, M, Heffernan, R, Mostashari, F, Weiss, D. Evaluation of school absenteeism data for early outbreak detection, New York City. BMC Public Health. 2005;5:105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Paterson, B, Liu, C, Owen, R. When the mailman stays home: exploring absenteeism as a non-specific indicator of influenza. Paper presented at: Population Health Congress; July 6-9, 2008; Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
9.Buehler, J, Sonricker, A, Paladini, M, etal. Syndromic surveillance practice in the United States: findings from a survey of state, territorial, and selected local health departments. Adv Dis Surveill. 2008;6:3.Google Scholar
10.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC recommendations for the amount of time persons with influenza-like illness should be away from others. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm. Published October 23, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2011.Google Scholar
11.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sickness absenteeism among full-time workers in the US, August 2009. NIOSH eNews. 2009;7:6 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/enewsv7n6chart.html. Accessed December 30, 2011.Google Scholar
12.Bureau of Labor Statistics. Illness-related work absences during flu season. In: Issues in Labor Statistics. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2010. http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils83.pdf. Accessed December 30, 2011.Google Scholar
13.US Census Bureau. Current Population Survey Design and Methodology. Washington, DC: Economics and Statistics Administration; October 2006. Technical Paper TP66. http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/tp-66.pdf. Published October 2006. Accessed December 30, 2011.Google Scholar
14.Davern, M, Jones, A, Lepkowski, J, etal. Unstable inferences? an examination of complex survey sample design adjustments using the Current Population Survey for health services research. Inquiry. 2006;43(3):283-297.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Davern, M, Jones, A, Lepkowski, J, etal. Estimating regression standard errors with data from the Current Population Survey's public use file. Inquiry. 2007;44:211-224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinical signs and symptoms of influenza: 2009-10 influenza prevention & control recommendations. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/clinical.htm. Published July 1, 2009. Accessed February 1, 2012.Google Scholar
17.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009-2010 influenza season week 42 ending October 24, 2009. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2009-2010/weekly42.htm. Published October 30, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2011.Google Scholar
18.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seasonal influenza (flu): past weekly surveillance reports. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/pastreports.htm. Published January 6, 2012. Accessed January 10, 2012.Google Scholar
19.Trotter, Y, Dunn, FL, Drachman, RH, etal. Asian influenza in the United States, 1957-1958. Am J Hyg. 1959;70(1):34-50.Google ScholarPubMed
20.US Department of Homeland Security. Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Guide for Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources. DHS website. http://www.pandemicflu.gov/planning-preparedness/business/cikrpandemicinfluenzaguide.pdf. Published September 19, 2006. Accessed January 10, 2012.Google Scholar
21.Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic. Washington, DC: US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration; 2009. Publication No. OSHA 3327-05R 2009. http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3327pandemic.pdf. Accessed January 10, 2012.Google Scholar
22.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC health update: school (K–12) dismissal and childcare facilities: interim CDC guidance in response to human infections with the influenza A H1N1 virus. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/HAN/050109.htm. Accessed January 10, 2012.Google Scholar
23.Shiley, KT, Nadolski, G, Mickus, T, etal. Differences in the epidemiological characteristics and clinical outcomes of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza, compared with seasonal influenza. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2010;31(7):676-682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Glezen, WP, Couch, RB, MacLean, RA, etal. Interpandemic influenza in the Houston area, 1974-76. N Engl J Med. 1978;298:587-592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Li, S, Leader, S. Economic burden and absenteeism from influenza-like illness in healthy households with children (5-17 years) in the US. Respir Med. 2007;101(6):1244-1250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.Palmer, LA, Rousculp, MD, Johnston, SS, Mahadevia, PJ, Nichol, KL. Effect of influenza-like illness and other wintertime respiratory illnesses on worker productivity: the child and household influenza-illness and employee function (CHIEF) study. Vaccine. 2010;28(31):5049-5056.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.McEwan, IM. Absenteeism and sickness absence. Postgrad Med J. 1991;67:1067-1071.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Kivimaki, M, Head, J, Ferrie, JE, etal. Sickness absence as a global measure of health: evidence from mortality in the Whitehall II prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2003;327(7411):364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Syndromic surveillance for bioterrorism following the attacks on the World Trade Center. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2002;51(13-5 special issue).Google Scholar
30.Das, D, Weiss, D, Mostashari, F, etal. Enhanced drop-in syndromic surveillance in New York City following September 11, 2001. J Urban Health. 2003;80(suppl 1):i76-i88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31.WorldatWork. Paid Time Off Programs and Practices: A Survey of WorldatWork Members. Scottsdale, AZ: WorldatWork; May 2010. http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=38913. Accessed January 10, 2012.Google Scholar