Understanding sickness presenteeism through the experience of immigrant workers in a context of economic crisis.

Background: Previous economic recessions show that immigrant workers may experience longer periods of unemployment, a situation that may lead employees to presenteeism, the act of working in spite of a health problem. This study explored perceptions about the factors that lead to presenteeism in immigrant workers considering the context of economic crisis.

Methods: Six focus group discussions were held (February 2012), with men and women from Colombia, Ecuador, and Morocco (n=44) living in Spain and selected by theoretical sample.