Associations between sickness absence and harassment, threats, violence, or discrimination: a cross-sectional study of the Swedish Police.
OBJECTIVE
To study if sick leave among employees in the Swedish Police was associated with experiences of discrimination, harassment, or (threats of) violence.


METHODS
All employees in the Swedish Police in 2005.


METHODS
Analyses of data from a questionnaire to all employees; 74% (n=16,725) responded. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) between sick leave and the studied factors were assessed.


RESULTS
The rate of sickness absence was higher for women (12%) than for men (8%) (p< 0.001). More women than men had experienced discrimination, while more men reported harassment from the public and experiences of threats or violence. ORs were significant between sick-leave and discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence, and higher for the men. Associations between harassment from the public, threats of violence or violence, and sickness absence were statistically significant for men only.


CONCLUSIONS
The study identifies the importance of investigating discrimination, harassment, and violence in relation to health outcomes for both male and female Police employees.
Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Pia.Svedberg@ki.se
Pia
P
Svedberg
Kristina
K
Alexanderson
D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016495:Police; D011287:Prejudice; D017678:Sex Distribution; D017406:Sexual Harassment / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*