Reliability of Questionnaire Information Measuring Musculoskeletal Symptoms and Work Histories

This study was designed to assess the test-retest reliability of a musculoskeletal symptom and work history (MSWH) questionnaire administered to 522 carpenters. A 10% subgroup of carpenters completing the original interview was selected for the retest interview. The areas addressed included recall o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Industrial Hygiene Association journal 1998-01, Vol.59 (1), p.20-24
Main Authors: Booth-Jones, Angela D., Lemasters, Grace K., Succop, Paul, Atterbury, Margaret R., Bhattacharya, Amit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Agreements
Arthritis
Biological and medical sciences
carpal tunnel
Carpenters
Carpentry
Confidence intervals
Construction industry
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents
Interviews
Interviews as Topic - standards
Job Description
Male
Medical History Taking - standards
Medical sciences
Muscular system
musculoskeletal
Musculoskeletal diseases
Musculoskeletal Diseases - etiology
Occupational Diseases - etiology
Occupational safety
questionnaire
Questionnaires
Reliability
Reproducibility of Results
Statistical analysis
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires - standards
Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
Wood
work histories
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Summary:This study was designed to assess the test-retest reliability of a musculoskeletal symptom and work history (MSWH) questionnaire administered to 522 carpenters. A 10% subgroup of carpenters completing the original interview was selected for the retest interview. The areas addressed included recall of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms, prior medical conditions, prior injuries, recall of work histories, and psychosocial items. The results show that for these sections of the MSWH questionnaire the observed agreements ranged from 75.5 to 97.0%, and the calculated kappa estimates ranged from 0.46 to 0.77. Injury to body regions, job specialty, and prior medical history had the highest kappa values of K=.70 or greater. Reliability of reporting frequency of job duties such as flooring and finishing was excellent, with kappa=0.73 (95% confidence interval=0.66, 0.80). Based on these results, the overall reliability of the MSWH questionnaire is very good.
ISSN:0002-8894
2163-369X
DOI:10.1080/15428119891010299