title: Health and sickness absence in Denmark: a study of elderly-care immigrant workers.
abstract: The objective of this study is to investigate patterns of sickness absence in light of health status among immigrants. Cross-sectional data from 2005 was used and the study population consisted of 3,121 healthcare assistants and healthcare helpers working in the elderly-care sector in Denmark. A multinomial logistic regression was employed to investigate the relationship between health indicator, sickness absence and being an immigrant. Our findings show that, on one hand, immigrants have worse health status, but on the other, they have significantly lower sickness absence than their Danish counterparts, even after factors such as age and gender are controlled for. The results show that the relationship between being an immigrant and sickness absence differs according to health status. Our findings are in line with Steer and Rhode's theoretical framework, according to which attendance to work is a function of ability and motivation to be at work.
authors.affiliation: The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. igc@nrcwe.dk
authors.forename: Isabella Gomes
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: Vilhelm
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Borg
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Høgh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000639:trends*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires