Absenteeism of health workers contributes to poor quality of care. A study in Uganda, for example, showed that it reduced the likelihood of people using primary health centres by 30%. Absenteeism also increases the workload for available staff. This adds to work-related stress.
Absenteeism is when workers report late to work, leave before the scheduled time or do not show up, without formal permission. It is frequently reported as a problem in health systems in resource-limited settings. A Nigerian study in 2021 found that about 80% of 412 health workers in primary healthcare centres reported engaging in absenteeism.
