Factors associated with nurses' absenteeism in clinical settings: A narrative review

Abstract

The issue of nurse absenteeism is a critical factor that significantly impacts the quality of nursing services. As a result, identifying these factors are of paramount importance for nursing managers. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate and identify the factors associated with nurses' absenteeism in clinical settings. This review study identified 194 English and Persian articles by searching PubMed, Google Scholar search engine, and the Scientific Information Database using the keywords of Absenteeism, Hospital, and Nurses from 2015 to 2021, with no restrictions on the type of research. After carefully reading and evaluating the articles, eight papers were included in the study based on the research aims and objectives. Based on the findings, several factors contribute to nurses' absenteeism, including illness, managerial and organizational issues, prolonged work shifts and fatigue caused by working with patients, stress and job dissatisfaction, and psychological factors. Nursing managers need to ensure that nurses have good working conditions by considering different factors affecting their physical and mental well-being. They should also align the organization's goals with the nurses' objectives as much as possible.