Introduction: Sick leave certification is an ongoing challenge at primary healthcare settings, influenced by various factors: patient, physician, and healthcare system. This study examined the determinants of sick leave certification at North Al-Khuwair Health Centre (NKHC), and the association between physicians' level of training and the justification of sick leave. Methods: An analytical, observational cross-sectional study was conducted among all patients issued sick leave certificates at NKHC between December 1 and 31, 2023. Univariate analysis was conducted to investigate the association between patient, doctor, healthcare setting factors, and sick leave justification. A multivariate, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between levels of training (the exposure variable) and justification of sick leaves (the outcome of interest) after adjustment for possible confounders. Results: A total 683 sick leaves were issued during the study period. Most sick leaves were issued to young patients (n = 587, 85.9%), female patients (n = 392, 57.4%), and those attending general practitioner clinics (n = 660, 96.6%). Over half of sick leaves were issued to patients with acute upper respiratory tract illnesses (n = 348, 51.0%). Univariate analysis showed significant association between age, sex, type of clinic attended, and sick leave justification. Family physicians (FMs) (n = 1, 4.3%, p < 0.001) issued fewer unjustified sick leaves than general practitioners (GPs) (n = 48, 7.3%, p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis, and after controlling for possible confounders, showed no significant association between doctor training level and sick leave justification. Conclusions: The study found that young, female patients are more likely to receive sick leaves. FMs were less likely to issue sick leave than GPs. No significant association between justification of sick leave and amount of training in this population. More research is required to better understand the possible factors that contribute to issuing sick leaves in primary care settings.
| Published in | Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care (Volume 11, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11 |
| Page(s) | 29-38 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Sick Leave, Training Level, Primary Health Care, Oman
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APA Style
Al-Kalbani, S. R., Al-Lawati, A. (2025). The Characteristics of Sick Leave Holders at the Primary Healthcare Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care, 11(2), 29-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11
ACS Style
Al-Kalbani, S. R.; Al-Lawati, A. The Characteristics of Sick Leave Holders at the Primary Healthcare Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study. J. Fam. Med. Health Care 2025, 11(2), 29-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11,
author = {Salma Rashid Al-Kalbani and Anwaar Al-Lawati},
title = {The Characteristics of Sick Leave Holders at the Primary Healthcare Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study
},
journal = {Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care},
volume = {11},
number = {2},
pages = {29-38},
doi = {10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfmhc.20251102.11},
abstract = {Introduction: Sick leave certification is an ongoing challenge at primary healthcare settings, influenced by various factors: patient, physician, and healthcare system. This study examined the determinants of sick leave certification at North Al-Khuwair Health Centre (NKHC), and the association between physicians' level of training and the justification of sick leave. Methods: An analytical, observational cross-sectional study was conducted among all patients issued sick leave certificates at NKHC between December 1 and 31, 2023. Univariate analysis was conducted to investigate the association between patient, doctor, healthcare setting factors, and sick leave justification. A multivariate, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between levels of training (the exposure variable) and justification of sick leaves (the outcome of interest) after adjustment for possible confounders. Results: A total 683 sick leaves were issued during the study period. Most sick leaves were issued to young patients (n = 587, 85.9%), female patients (n = 392, 57.4%), and those attending general practitioner clinics (n = 660, 96.6%). Over half of sick leaves were issued to patients with acute upper respiratory tract illnesses (n = 348, 51.0%). Univariate analysis showed significant association between age, sex, type of clinic attended, and sick leave justification. Family physicians (FMs) (n = 1, 4.3%, p Conclusions: The study found that young, female patients are more likely to receive sick leaves. FMs were less likely to issue sick leave than GPs. No significant association between justification of sick leave and amount of training in this population. More research is required to better understand the possible factors that contribute to issuing sick leaves in primary care settings.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Characteristics of Sick Leave Holders at the Primary Healthcare Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study AU - Salma Rashid Al-Kalbani AU - Anwaar Al-Lawati Y1 - 2025/05/19 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11 DO - 10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11 T2 - Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care JF - Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care JO - Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care SP - 29 EP - 38 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2469-8342 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfmhc.20251102.11 AB - Introduction: Sick leave certification is an ongoing challenge at primary healthcare settings, influenced by various factors: patient, physician, and healthcare system. This study examined the determinants of sick leave certification at North Al-Khuwair Health Centre (NKHC), and the association between physicians' level of training and the justification of sick leave. Methods: An analytical, observational cross-sectional study was conducted among all patients issued sick leave certificates at NKHC between December 1 and 31, 2023. Univariate analysis was conducted to investigate the association between patient, doctor, healthcare setting factors, and sick leave justification. A multivariate, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between levels of training (the exposure variable) and justification of sick leaves (the outcome of interest) after adjustment for possible confounders. Results: A total 683 sick leaves were issued during the study period. Most sick leaves were issued to young patients (n = 587, 85.9%), female patients (n = 392, 57.4%), and those attending general practitioner clinics (n = 660, 96.6%). Over half of sick leaves were issued to patients with acute upper respiratory tract illnesses (n = 348, 51.0%). Univariate analysis showed significant association between age, sex, type of clinic attended, and sick leave justification. Family physicians (FMs) (n = 1, 4.3%, p Conclusions: The study found that young, female patients are more likely to receive sick leaves. FMs were less likely to issue sick leave than GPs. No significant association between justification of sick leave and amount of training in this population. More research is required to better understand the possible factors that contribute to issuing sick leaves in primary care settings. VL - 11 IS - 2 ER -
Directorate General of Health Services, Muscat, Ministry of Health, Oman
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