Validity of a self-completed Questionnaire Measuring the Physical Demands of Work

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment ＆ Health Environment ＆ Health, 1998-10, Vol.24 (5), p.376-385
• Main Authors: Pope, Daniel P, Silman, Alan J, Cherry, Nicola M, Pritchard, Christina, Macfarlane, Gary J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arm; Biological and medical sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemiology; Ergometry; Ergonomics. Workplace layout; Ergonomics. Workplace layout. Occupational psychology; Estimate reliability; Female; Humans; Labor demand; Lifting; Male; Manual labor; Medical sciences; Observational research; Observer Variation; Occupational medicine; Occupations; Pain Measurement; Physical Exertion; Posture; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Questionnaires; Random Allocation; Reproducibility of Results; Self reports; Surveys and Questionnaires; United Kingdom; Workload; Wrist
• ISSN: 0355-3140; 1795-990X
• DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.358

Objectives This study determined the accuracy of workers in quantifying occupational physical demands on a self-administered questionnaire. Methods First, a self-administered questionnaire on work postures, manual materials-handling, and repetitive upper-limb movements was validated using direct simultaneous observations for 123 randomly selected employees from 6 occupational settings. Second, weight estimation accuracy was assessed on visual analogue scales for 6 manual materials-handling activities using 20 randomly selected employees from 1 occupational setting. Results At a dichotomous level (ever-never), the accuracy of most of the self-reported physical demands was good (sensitivity 60—100%; specificity 56—100%). A more-detailed analysis of the dimensions studied (frequency, duration and amplitude) also showed that the accuracy of the self-reported estimates was satisfactory. Full agreement between the estimated and observed frequency was > 60% for most of the manual materials-handling activities. In addition the average difference between the estimated and observed duration of the physical demands was found to be small. Finally the average difference between the self-reported and actual weights of various loads was found to be modest. Conclusions The self-reported questionnaire used in this study would provide a useful instrument for estimating occupational physical demands and the frequency, duration, and amplitude of these demands in future epidemiologie studies associated with musculoskeletal pain.