What do nurse managers say about nurses' sickness absenteeism? A new perspective

Aim To explore nurses' sickness absenteeism from the perspective of nurse managers. Background Sickness absenteeism among health-care providers, especially nurses, remains a significant problem in an era of challenges to provide high quality care with the required skill mix. This in turn compromises the quality of care and adds to the costs of an organisation. Methods A qualitative descriptive design was used. Data were collected from a governmental academic hospital in Lebanon. In-depth tape-recorded interviews were conducted with a total of 20 nurse managers. Data were analysed through a content analysis approach. Results Data analysis yielded three domains as follows: work-related, individual and organisational factors that lead to nurses' sickness absenteeism. Conclusion This study conceptualised nurses' absenteeism from the nurse managers' perspective, and it revealed absence antecedents that are rarely reported elsewhere in the literature. Implications for nursing management The findings from this study can be utilised to design reform initiatives concerned with nurses' absenteeism and to decrease its negative consequences in terms of quality and cost.