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Going to work sick: A scoping review of illness presenteeism among physicians and medical trainees.

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Title: Going to work sick: A scoping review of illness presenteeism among physicians and medical trainees.
Authors: Madrazo, Lorenzo, Choo‐Foo, Jade, Yu, Wenhui, LaDonna, Kori A., Domecq, Marie‐Cécile, Humphrey‐Murto, Susan
Source: Medical Education. May2025, Vol. 59 Issue 5, p469-483. 15p.
Subjects: Psychology of physicians, Sick leave, Medical information storage & retrieval systems, Health services accessibility, Attitudes toward illness, Work environment, Presenteeism (Labor), Quantitative research, Systematic reviews, MEDLINE, Thematic analysis, Psychology of medical students, Industrial hygiene, COVID-19 pandemic, Psychology information storage & retrieval systems, Employees' workload
Abstract: Background: Illness presenteeism (IP)—characterized by individuals working despite being sick—is a prevalent and complex phenomenon among physicians and trainees amidst competing priorities within medicine. The COVID‐19 pandemic and growing attention to physician and trainee well‐being have sparked renewed interest in IP. We conducted a scoping review to explore what is known about IP: more specifically, how IP is perceived, what approaches have been used to study the phenomenon and how it might have changed through the COVID‐19 pandemic. Method: The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework was used to systematically select and summarize the literature. Searches were conducted across four databases: Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Web of Science. Quantitative and thematic analyses were conducted. Results: Of 4277 articles screened, 45 were included. Of these, four were published after the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. All studies framed IP as problematic for physicians, patients and health care systems. Dominant sociocultural drivers of IP included obligations towards patients and colleagues and avoiding the stigma of appearing vulnerable or even temporarily weak. Structural factors included heavy workload, poor access to health services and lack of sick leave policies for physicians. The pandemic does not appear to have affected IP‐related causes or behaviours. Proposed solutions included both educational interventions and policy‐driven changes. Conclusions: Despite being viewed in the literature as largely negative, IP remains highly prevalent among physicians and trainees. Our review highlights that IP among physicians is fraught with tensions: while IP seemingly contradicts certain priorities such as physician wellbeing, IP may be justified by fulfilling obligations to patients and colleagues. Future work should examine IP through diverse theoretical lenses to further elucidate its complexities and inform nuanced individual and systems‐level interventions to minimize the negative consequences of IP. @LorenzoMadrazo and colleagues' scoping review on illness presenteeism summarizes the literature on physicians and trainees coming to work sick, highlighting the complexities of this phenomenon [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Medical Education is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Going to work sick: A scoping review of illness presenteeism among physicians and medical trainees.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Madrazo%2C+Lorenzo%22">Madrazo, Lorenzo</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Choo‐Foo%2C+Jade%22">Choo‐Foo, Jade</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yu%2C+Wenhui%22">Yu, Wenhui</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22LaDonna%2C+Kori+A%2E%22">LaDonna, Kori A.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Domecq%2C+Marie‐Cécile%22">Domecq, Marie‐Cécile</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Humphrey‐Murto%2C+Susan%22">Humphrey‐Murto, Susan</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Medical+Education%22">Medical Education</searchLink>. May2025, Vol. 59 Issue 5, p469-483. 15p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+physicians%22">Psychology of physicians</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sick+leave%22">Sick leave</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+information+storage+%26+retrieval+systems%22">Medical information storage & retrieval systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+services+accessibility%22">Health services accessibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitudes+toward+illness%22">Attitudes toward illness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Work+environment%22">Work environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Presenteeism+%28Labor%29%22">Presenteeism (Labor)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quantitative+research%22">Quantitative research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Systematic+reviews%22">Systematic reviews</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22MEDLINE%22">MEDLINE</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thematic+analysis%22">Thematic analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+medical+students%22">Psychology of medical students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+hygiene%22">Industrial hygiene</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19+pandemic%22">COVID-19 pandemic</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+information+storage+%26+retrieval+systems%22">Psychology information storage & retrieval systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employees'+workload%22">Employees' workload</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Background: Illness presenteeism (IP)—characterized by individuals working despite being sick—is a prevalent and complex phenomenon among physicians and trainees amidst competing priorities within medicine. The COVID‐19 pandemic and growing attention to physician and trainee well‐being have sparked renewed interest in IP. We conducted a scoping review to explore what is known about IP: more specifically, how IP is perceived, what approaches have been used to study the phenomenon and how it might have changed through the COVID‐19 pandemic. Method: The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework was used to systematically select and summarize the literature. Searches were conducted across four databases: Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Web of Science. Quantitative and thematic analyses were conducted. Results: Of 4277 articles screened, 45 were included. Of these, four were published after the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. All studies framed IP as problematic for physicians, patients and health care systems. Dominant sociocultural drivers of IP included obligations towards patients and colleagues and avoiding the stigma of appearing vulnerable or even temporarily weak. Structural factors included heavy workload, poor access to health services and lack of sick leave policies for physicians. The pandemic does not appear to have affected IP‐related causes or behaviours. Proposed solutions included both educational interventions and policy‐driven changes. Conclusions: Despite being viewed in the literature as largely negative, IP remains highly prevalent among physicians and trainees. Our review highlights that IP among physicians is fraught with tensions: while IP seemingly contradicts certain priorities such as physician wellbeing, IP may be justified by fulfilling obligations to patients and colleagues. Future work should examine IP through diverse theoretical lenses to further elucidate its complexities and inform nuanced individual and systems‐level interventions to minimize the negative consequences of IP. @LorenzoMadrazo and colleagues' scoping review on illness presenteeism summarizes the literature on physicians and trainees coming to work sick, highlighting the complexities of this phenomenon [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Medical Education is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/medu.15538
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 469
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Psychology of physicians
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sick leave
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Medical information storage & retrieval systems
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      – SubjectFull: Health services accessibility
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      – SubjectFull: Attitudes toward illness
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      – SubjectFull: Work environment
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      – SubjectFull: Presenteeism (Labor)
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      – SubjectFull: Employees' workload
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      – TitleFull: Going to work sick: A scoping review of illness presenteeism among physicians and medical trainees.
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              Text: May2025
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