The Reliability of Self-reported Sick Absenteeism: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This irivestigafioii addresses the reliability of self-reports of sick leave. Althoiigli sick leave is an objective riieasiire which is often relevant for deteniiiiiirig oiitconie and cost-beriejit, obtairi irig records front eniployeers or irisiirarice coinparlies may be a considerable task. Coiiseqiiently, we compared reports of sick leave diiriiig the last inoiith made by 66 patierits witli iniisciiloskeletal pain problerits on the Oiitcoriie Evahation Qiiestionrinire bvith records froiii their irisiirance ofice. Resiilts indicated good reliability with a correlation of r =.95, similar distributions, arid no indication of systematic over or iinder reporting. Indeed, some examples are provided where part of the discrepancy may depend on idiosyncrasies iii the irisiirance records or lack of clear dejiiiitioits rather than poor acciiracy on the patient's part. Our results suggest that self-reports of sick leave are reliable for recerzt time periods mid a drtratiori of oiie moiifli.

A prospective study of cognitive behavioural factors as predictors of pain, disability and quality of life one year after lumbar disc surgery

“…Previous research has shown that self-ratings highly correlate to register data from the National Social Insurance office [46,47]. The patients reported if they were on sick leave or not, and if they were at sick leave the duration of sick leave was asked for.…”

Quality of life and maintenance of improvements after early multimodal rehabilitation: A 5-year follow-up

“…At the 5-year follow-up patients reported their own current sick leave. Previous research has shown that these ratings are highly correlated to register data from the National Social Insurance office [14,15]. The term 'active worker' is defined as a person who has decreased his or her sick leave level at the time of the follow-up.…”

A 5-Year Follow-Up Evaluation of the Health and Economic Consequences of an Early Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Back Pain: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

“…Sick leave was assessed with self-report items previously shown to be valid. 13,14 We also obtained records from the National Social Insurance Authority. This authority pays for all sick leave after the 14th day, and all residents of Sweden are covered in the scheme.…”