Factors associated with absenteeism-illness in rural workers in a timber company1

The monitoring of absenteeism-illness has revealed its high prevalence, and a strong relationship with work. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with absenteeismillness among the rural workers in a timber company in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is an analytical cross-sectional study, carried out among 883 workers. The medical certificates issued in the company over one year were surveyed. For the analysis, use was made of descriptive statistics and biand multivariable analyses. The strength of association was measured by the odds ratio (OR) with help from logistic regression (p<0.05). A prevalence of 54% of medical certificates was found in the population. Bivariate analysis revealed an association between job (forestry assistant (OR=13.1), carpenter (OR=15) and chainsaw operator (OR=39.6)), length of service in the company, departments and length of schooling with absenteeism-illness. In the multi-variate analysis, the association between length of schooling and being a carpenter disappeared, while the other associations remained. It is concluded that there is important evidence about the occupational and demographic factors and absenteeism-illness among forestry workers.