Женщины на Кюрасао чаще посещают врачей и дольше отсутствуют на работе из-за болезней

WILLEMSTAD – Women in Curaçao are more likely than men to have recently visited a general practitioner and are also more likely to report longer periods of sickness-related absence from work, according to new results from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The findings are part of CBS's latest examination of health and healthcare use among Curaçao's population. The survey covers several areas, including sickness absence, mental health, healthcare use, access to care and satisfaction with healthcare. In this first publication, CBS focuses on two areas: contact with a general practitioner and absence from work because of health problems. The figures show that 50.8 percent of respondents had visited a general practitioner during the six months preceding the survey. Women were considerably more likely to have had recent contact with a doctor. According to CBS, 55.1 percent of women had visited a general practitioner during the previous six months, compared with 45.5 percent of men. The difference is also visible among people who had gone considerably longer without seeing a general practitioner. Among men, 31.9 percent said their last visit was more than 12 months earlier, compared with 22.7 percent of women. There was little difference in the group whose last visit occurred between six and 12 months earlier. This applied to 14.8 percent of men and 15.6 percent of women. The survey examined contact with general practitioners among people of all ages. For sickness absence, CBS specifically looked at employed respondents aged 15 and older. In total, 12.9 percent of employed respondents said they had been absent from work at some point during the 12 months before the interview because of health problems. Among workers who reported sickness absence, 61.6 percent were away from work for between one and seven days. Another 25.7 percent were absent for between eight and 31 days, while 12.7 percent reported more than 31 days of absence. That means 38.4 percent of workers who reported sickness absence were away from work for more than one week. CBS also found a difference between men and women. Some 14 percent of employed women reported having missed work because of health problems, compared with 11.7 percent of employed men. Women were also more strongly represented among those experiencing longer periods of sickness absence. Among men who reported being absent because of illness, 65.1 percent were away for between one and seven days. Among women, the figure was 59.2 percent. For absences lasting more than a week, the situation was reversed: 40.8 percent of women who reported sickness absence had been away for more than seven days, compared with 34.9 percent of men. CBS said the results suggest that women not only report sickness absence more frequently but are also relatively more likely to experience longer periods away from work. Men, meanwhile, are relatively more strongly represented among workers reporting short-term sickness absence. The figures provide an initial picture of healthcare use and the extent to which health problems affect workplace attendance in Curaçao. Other subjects covered by the health survey, including mental health, access to healthcare and satisfaction with healthcare services, are expected to be analyzed further in subsequent publications.