Progressive ageing of working population in a southern Spain reference hospital

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the work population evolution of a southern Spain hospital along a decade (2006-2016), focusing in the predominant staff. Methodology. A descriptive cross-sectional epidemiological study was undertaken to build up a population pyramid. The cutoff point was January 2017. The scope was the work force of a regional hospital with 5450 members, 1408 of which were nurses. One index was calculated to relate youth with the older population; and another one to look at femininity. The results revealed an inverted pyramid-shaped, narrow-based and feminized asymmetric, demographic structure, and a progressive ageing after a decade. The femininity index was even higher for the nursing population. The working population over 50 years was greater than that below this age. There was a striking narrowing in the 51-55 age stretch, but only in female nurses. We conclude that there is an ageing working population and a predominance of women in almost all age groups, especially in nurses. There is an imbalance that makes it necessary to plan health monitoring. In such a way that demographic studies would facilitate collective health monitoring by prioritising actions according to age and sex variables. The low percentages of young nurses, together with the fact the age of the retirement in the studied population is lower than the legal one, are facts which must draw the attention of Spanish managers to put in place realistic and efficient measures that promote the "active ageing" so often spoken of as well as others that facilitate the entry into the labour market of young workers. Resumen El objetivo del estudio fue describir la evolución de la población laboral en un hospital de referencia del sur de España durante una década (2006-2016,) centrándose en la categoría laboral predominante: las enfermeras. Para ello se realizó un estudio epidemiológico descriptivo de tipo trasversal, en forma de pirámide poblacional, cuyo punto de corte fue enero de 2017. El ámbito de estudio fue la población laboral de un hospital regional del sur de España con 5450 profesionales, de las que 1408 eran enfermeras. Se calcularon índices, uno para relacionar la población joven con la madura y otro de feminidad, comparándose con un informe previo de 2006. Los resultados mostraron una estructura demográfica en forma de pirámide invertida, de base estrecha, y asimétrica. Con una población laboral envejecida y feminizada en casi todos los tramos de edad, siendo el índice de feminidad aún mayor para la población de enfermeras. La población laboral mayor de 50 años, superaba a la menor de dicha edad. Existía un estrechamiento llamativo en el tramo de 51 a 55 años, solo en las mujeres enfermeras, que interrumpía el incremento progresivo de la población laboral que le antecedía. Concluimos que la población laboral estudiada ha envejecido progresivamente, con un predominio femenino mayoritario, especialmente en las enfermeras, apreciándose desajustes que obligan a analizar las causas y a planificar actuaciones. Los estudios ...

Impact of a Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Program at a Regional University Hospital and Predictive Variables of Being a Smoker among Hospital Workers

“…Another specific aim of this work was to assess age and smoking habits. One fact of note is the significant difference obtained when comparing the average age of non-smokers and smokers among the staff, particularly among increasingly aging populations of workers such as those at large hospitals [ 16 ], which is in line with the demographic evolution of the Spanish population. In this context, the fact that over 80% of hospital staff do not smoke is largely due to the fact that the majority of the young people who join the workplace have never smoked.…”

“…Central and dispersion measures were calculated for the quantitative variables and frequencies for the qualitative ones. Age was converted into an ordinal qualitative variable in two categories: 50 years old or younger, which is close to the mean age at the hospital [ 16 ], and over 51 years old.…”