Health care workers still care for patients when they’re ill

Health care workers surveyed in a new study said they worked for at least one day when they had a respiratory illness and were symptomatic. Scientists looked at nine hospitals in Canada during four flu seasons, and of the more than 1,000 health care workers who were sick with a respiratory illness during a workday, 95% of them said they reported to work for at least one day, while more than half of the workers said they worked during the entire time they were sick. On average, health care workers took only about half a day of leave. Even though 80% had paid sick leave, most said that they considered their symptoms too mild to take time off. More research is needed to understand how ill health care workers affect their patients.