Presenteeism levels among Italian nurses. A multicentric survey.

Background: Presenteeism represents the need to "get to work although we feel sick"; thus, affecting the quality of work, leading to errors or omissions, reducing productivity and increasing costs. Nurses are among the job categories with the highest degree of Presenteeism, which may negatively affect work quality.

Aims and objectives: To assess the prevalence of Presenteeism among Italian nurses.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multicentric study was carried out from January to December 2015 in a sample of Italian nurses. A total of 652 nurses completed the questionnaire. The mean Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) total score was 21.6 (±4.0). Nurses showed high Presenteeism levels when considering the "Avoiding distractions" and "Completing work" sections of the Scale.

Results: Male nurses showed a lower degree of Presenteeism than women, which also tended to be less severe with increasing age. The presence of ≥1 self-reported health problem was associated with an increase in the score.

Conclusions: In line with previous studies performed outside Italy, Presenteeism appear to be a widespread condition also among Italian nurses, requiring appropriate treatment and recognition by healthcare providers. The results of this survey might be used as a minimum, most likely underestimated basis for targeted public health policies.