OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to estimate the time to breakeven and 5-year net costs of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) taking both direct and indirect costs and cost savings into account. METHODS Estimates of direct cost savings from LAGB were available from the literature. Although longitudinal data on indirect cost savings were not available, these estimates wer...

In order to get a more complete picture of how labor supply is affected by economic incentives, the effects on absenteeism and not just on contracted hours should be taken into account. In particular, absenteeism due to sick leave can be considerable. In this paper we examine whether the level of sick leave compensation affects sick leave behavior. Using time-series data for Sweden spanning a l...

OBJECTIVES An influenza pandemic, as with any disaster involving contagion or contamination, has the potential to influence the number of health care employees who will report for duty. Our project assessed the uptake of proposed interventions to mitigate absenteeism in hospital workers during a pandemic. METHODS Focus groups were followed by an Internet-based survey of a convenience sample f...

Body mass index Dysmenorrhoea Menstruation Premenstrual syndrome Absenteeism

BACKGROUND Anxiety is a major risk factor for problematic school absenteeism. However, most anxious students attend school. What differentiates anxious attenders from non-attenders? METHOD High school students (N = 865) were assigned to groups based on anxiety and absenteeism scores. These groups were then tested for differences in risk factor profiles using discriminant analysis. RESULTS A...

Handwashing is one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of micro-organisms and in preventing the development of infections. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a comprehensive handwashing program on absenteeism in elementary grades. Two hundred ninety students from 5 independent schools were enrolled in the study. Each test classroom had a contro...

To evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive hand hygiene campaign on reducing absenteeism caused by influenza-like illness (ILI), diarrhea, conjunctivitis, and laboratory-confirmed influenza, we conducted a randomized control trial in 60 elementary schools in Cairo, Egypt. Children in the intervention schools were required to wash hands twice each day, and health messages were provided throug...

Introduction An electronic smart-card based school absenteeism surveillance system was introduced to Hong Kong since 2008. The pilot surveillance system initially began with 18 schools in 2008, and expanded to 107 schools in the current academic year of 2013-14. Data on all-cause absenteeism were collected from all participating schools and absenteeism due to sickness such as influenza-like ill...