Associations Between Sickness Absence and Harassment, Threats, Violence, or Discrimination: a Cross-sectional Study of the Swedish Police

Objective: To study if sick leave among employees in the Swedish Police was associated with experiences of discrimination, harassment, or (threats of) violence.

Participants: All employees in the Swedish Police in 2005.

Methods: Analyses of data from a questionnaire to all employees; 74% (n=16,725) responded. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) between sick leave and the studied factors were assessed.

Results: The rate of sickness absence was higher for women (12%) than for men (8%) (p< 0.001). More women than men had experienced discrimination, while more men reported harassment from the public and experiences of threats or violence. ORs were significant between sick-leave and discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence, and higher for the men. Associations between harassment from the public, threats of violence or violence, and sickness absence were statistically significant for men only.

Conclusion: The study identifies the importance of investigating discrimination, harassment, and violence in relation to health outcomes for both male and female Police employees.