An analysis of sickness absence and clinic visits among employees of a company in Kuwait.

A study was conducted to determine the frequency of clinic visits by, and the incidence and duration of sickness absence among employees of a company in Kuwait. The company employs about 2,000 employees who work in various departments located throughout Kuwait, and have varied access to the company clinic which was established in 1978. During the three year period October 1979 to September 1982, the mean frequency of visits to the company clinic among a selected population of 1,000 employees was about 6 visits per employee per year. No significant difference was found in this frequency between the years, or between different months in the year. However, the distance of the place of work from the clinic, and the nature of work appeared to influence the frequency of clinic visits. Looking at sickness absence among a selected population of 1,750 employees, the mean incidence was about 0.55 percent per working day, and the mean duration of sickness absence was about 4 days per employee per year. This mean duration of sickness absence is very low compared to the average of 19 days' absence in Britain in 1978-79, and earlier European averages ranging between 12 and 21 days; and is possibly influenced by the difference between sick leave regulations in these countries. Language: en