Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25960833›Full record

ArticleOman medical journal2015

Trends of sickness certifications in primary health care in muscat, sultanate of oman.

Faiz A'Rashdy, Khamis Al-Hosni, Abdulhakeem Al-Rawahi, Thord Theodorsson

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Oman medical journal, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Faiz A'RashdyGeneral Medicine, Bediyah Hospital, Bediyah, Oman.
Khamis Al-HosniGeneral Medicine, Army Forces Health Services, Muscat, Oman.
Abdulhakeem Al-RawahiResearch Department, Oman Medical Specialty Board, Muscat, Oman.
Thord TheodorssonDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Oman Medical College · OMSultan Qaboos University Hospital · OM

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesSickness certification (SC) is common practice in primary health care with proven implications on the health system. To assess the rate of sickness certifications in the Bowsher province and describe related demographic, occupational and medical factors.

methodsOur retrospective, cross-sectional study retrieved data for all consultations, with patients aged six to 65 years old, which ended with SC. The data from four primary health care centers in the Bowsher provice were collected during 2011 using the electronic medical record system. Collected data included patient demographics, occupation, date issued, duration of sickness certification, recorded vital signs, and clinical diagnosis. Suitable rates were calculated as percentages and important differences were compared using the chi-square test.

resultsThe total number of consultation visits for the targeted population was 189,275. Of these 26,096 consultations resulted in SC to a total of 15,758 patients. The overall rate of SC was 13.8 per 100 consultation-years (confidence interval (CI): 13.6-14). SC rates in males were significantly higher than females (17 and 11 per 100 consultations/year, respectively). Patients aged 19-29 years old had the highest rate of SC (18.6/100 consultations/year). School students aged six to 18 years made up 28% of patients, and 24% and 22% of patients were working in the private and public sectors, respectively. No vital signs record was found for 30% of SC visits. The highest rate of SC was in October (17%) and the lowest was in August (9%). Acute respiratory infections were the most frequent diagnoses (31%) resulting in certifications. The rate of SC issued for Omanis and non-Omanis was 14 and 9 per 100 consultations per year, respectively.

conclusionSickness certification is a burden on primary health care in the studied health centers with approximately one in seven consultations ending with SC issued. More investigations are needed to identify determinates of high sickness absence. Robust guidelines are important to regulate the number of sickness certificates issued.

Indexed as

EpidemiologyGeneral PracticeOmanPrimary Health CareSick LeaveSickness Certification

Identifiers

PMID25960833
PMCPMC4412449
OpenAlexW2326492333

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.