Cambridge IELTS 2 · Academic · Test 3 · Passage 1
Absenteeism in Nursing: a Longitudinal Study — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for Absenteeism in Nursing: a Longitudinal Study, Cambridge IELTS 2 Academic Reading Test 3 Passage 1, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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Absenteeism in Nursing: a Longitudinal Study answer key at a glance
Questions 1–13. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Yes / No / Not Given (Q1–7), Note Completion (Q8–13). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 1–7: Yes / No / Not Given
Strategy: These test the writer's opinions, not facts. Look for evaluative language, and treat 'may' or 'could' as weaker than the question's claim.
The Prince William Hospital has been trying to reduce absenteeism amongst nurses for many years.
“The study reported here was conducted in the Prince William Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, where, prior to this time, few active steps had been taken to measure, understand or manage the occurrence of absenteeism”
The text says that prior to this study few active steps had been taken to measure, understand or manage absenteeism, so the hospital had not tried for years.
Nurses in the Prince William Hospital study believed that there were benefits in taking as little sick leave as possible.
“A prevalent attitude amongst many nurses in the group selected for study was that there was no reward or recognition for not utilising the paid sick leave entitlement allowed them in their employment conditions”
Nurses felt there was no reward or recognition for not utilising their paid sick leave, so they saw no benefit in taking little leave.
Just over half the nurses in the 1986 study believed that management understood the effects that shift work had on them.
“Further, 67 per cent of nurses felt that administration was not sympathetic to the problems shift work causes to employees' personal and social lives”
Sixty-seven per cent felt administration was not sympathetic to shift-work problems, far more than just over half, and the direction is opposite.
The Canadian study found that 'illness in the family' was a greater cause of absenteeism than 'work to do at home'.
“Other causes, in decreasing order of frequency, were illness in family, family social function, work to do at home and bereavement”
In decreasing order of frequency, illness in family came before work to do at home, so it was a greater cause of absenteeism.
In relation to management attitude to absenteeism the study at the Prince William Hospital found similar results to the two 1989 studies.
“Similar attitudes have been noted by James (1989), who noted that sick leave is seen by many workers as a right, like annual holiday leave In another longitudinal study of nurses working in two Canadian hospitals, Hackett, Bycio and Guion (1989) examined the reasons why nurses took absence from work”
James in 1989 noted similar attitudes about sick leave as a right, but the passage never compares management attitude results with the two 1989 studies.
The study at the Prince William Hospital aimed to find out the causes of absenteeism amongst 250 nurses.
“In an attempt to reduce the level of absenteeism amongst the 250 Registered and Enrolled Nurses in the present study, the Prince William management introduced three different, yet potentially complementary, strategies over 18 months”
The study aimed to reduce absenteeism among 250 nurses by introducing three strategies, not to find out its causes.
The study at the Prince William Hospital involved changes in management practices.
“In an attempt to reduce the level of absenteeism amongst the 250 Registered and Enrolled Nurses in the present study, the Prince William management introduced three different, yet potentially complementary, strategies over 18 months”
Prince William management introduced three different, potentially complementary strategies over 18 months, a change in management practices.
Questions 8–13: Note Completion
Strategy: Predict the word class from the note, find the paraphrase of the note's keyword in the passage, then copy the answer exactly within the word limit.
“However, it was possible to secure incentives from local businesses, including free passes to entertainment parks, theatres, restaurants, etc”
The note needs the source of incentives; the text says incentives were secured from local businesses, including free passes to parks and restaurants.
“Where possible, staff were given the opportunity to determine their working schedule within the limits of clinical needs Over the time of the study, staff were given a larger degree of control in their rosters”
The note needs what staff could help determine; the text says they could determine their working schedule within the limits of clinical needs.
“Each month, managers would analyse the pattern of absence of staff with excessive sick leave (greater than ten days per year for full-time employees)”
The note needs the type of sick leave managers analysed; the text says staff with excessive sick leave, over ten days a year.
“Each month, managers would analyse the pattern of absence of staff with excessive sick leave (greater than ten days per year for full-time employees). Characteristic patterns of potential 'voluntary absenteeism' such as absence before and after days off,”
The note needs the pattern being identified; the text names potential voluntary absenteeism, such as absence before and after days off.
“Absence rates for the six months prior to the incentive scheme ranged from 3.69 per cent to 4.32 per cent. In the following six months they ranged between 2.87 per cent and 3.96 per cent. This represents a 20 per cent improvement”
The note needs the percentage improvement from the incentive scheme; absence rates fell and the text calls it a 20 per cent improvement.
“This led to significant improvements in communication between managers and staff. A similar effect was found from the implementation of the third strategy”
The note needs what improved between managers and staff; the text says this led to significant improvements in communication.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Absenteeism in Nursing: a Longitudinal Study passage come from?
It is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 2 Academic Reading Test 3, and it covers Questions 1–13.
What question types appear in Absenteeism in Nursing: a Longitudinal Study?
The passage is tested with Yes / No / Not Given, Note Completion. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.