Does kinaesthetics have an impact on absenteeism of employees in long-term care? Quantitative analysis of routine data of a long-term care provider

Background. Employees in long-term care are exposed to physical stress. The Samariterstiftung N & uuml;rtingen has implemented the "Bildungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt Kinasthetik", an initiative for workplace health promotion. It aims to reduce the strain on employees and thus have a positive impact on their health, job satisfaction and health-related quality of life. The project extends over three phases in the period between 2019 and 2025. The external evaluation works with both primary and secondary data. The following article is based on routine data from the Samariterstiftung and examines the extent to which kinaesthetics as a workplace health promotion measure influences employee absenteeism in nursing and care work. The results cover the first survey period (2019-2021) with six facilities each for intervention and control. Methods. Absenteeism from the first day is compared inferentially between the groups (intervention and control). In the binary logistic regression analysis (odds: four or more days absent/three or fewer days absent), adjustment is made for the covariables available in the data set. Before the central analysis, the groups are described using demographic data and other job-related structural characteristics. In addition, the absences are related to external data sources for an initial perception. Results. The results show a significant reduction in sickness-related absences in the intervention group. The group difference is also significant in the multivariate logistic regression (odds ratio [OR] intervention/control 0.6), albeit with low model quality. Conclusion. The positive results can be seen as an incentive for nursing homes to implement innovative projects for health promotion. Regarding the results of these analyses the "Bildungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt Kinasthetik" seems to be a promising intervention. Due to the limited scientific database, further studies in the project must be awaited until the end of 2025 to gain a deeper understanding of sustainability.