Absenteeism in Nursing: A Longitudinal Study: reading answers and analysis
An Australian hospital tried three ways to cut nurses' sick leave over 18 months: prizes from local businesses for the ward with the lowest absence, fairer and more flexible rosters, and counselling for staff whose absences looked voluntary. Absence fell 20% at first but only 5% year on year, yet communication between managers and staff improved.
Questions 1-13 · 13 marks · 2 question blocks
Where the answers sit
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (1-7) covers the background studies and the method. The notes (8-13) cover the three strategies, the results and the discussion, in order.
Questions 1-7
Watch the percentages and the aims. Few steps had been taken before the study (NO), and nurses saw no reward for not taking sick leave (NO). 67% felt management wasn't sympathetic (NO to 'over half believed it understood'). The study set out to reduce absence, not find its causes (NO). The Canadian ranking puts family illness above housework (YES).
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NO | — |
| 2 | NO | — |
| 3 | NO | — |
| 4 | YES | — |
| 5 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 6 | NO | — |
| 7 | YES | — |
Questions 8-13
Each strategy note gives its key detail: who donated the prizes, what staff got more control over (the key accepts schedule, roster and similar), and the two signs counselling looked for. The results give the early percentage drop, and the discussion gives what improved among staff.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | local businesses | businesses |
| 9 | schedule | work schedule / working schedule / rostering / roster / rosters |
| 10 | excessive | — |
| 11 | voluntary absence | voluntary absenteeism |
| 12 | 20 | twenty |
| 13 | communication | — |
The questions most people get wrong
NO. 67% felt administration was not sympathetic to shift-work problems. The 53% figure is about fair scheduling, a different question.
20. The first six months after the incentives brought a 20% improvement. The 5% figure is the year-to-year comparison.
NO. The aim was to reduce absence among the 250 nurses. The causes were taken from earlier studies.
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The full Cambridge 2 Test 3 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 2, Test 3, Reading Passage 1. The passage name belongs to Cambridge University Press. No passage text or question wording is reproduced on this page. The answers are published for self-marking, and the analysis is our own.