Clinical utility of the worker role interview: a survey study among Swedish users

Abstract

Background: Work ability assessments are used to guide interventions designed to reduce or eliminate work disability and facilitate work participation. The clinical utility of assessments concerns the extent to which the assessment results support clinical decision-making. Aim: The aim was to investigate how users perceive the clinical utility of the Swedish version of the Worker Role Interview (WRI-S). An additional aim was to investigate differences in clinical utility related to the users’ level of WRI-S experience, attendance at courses on WRI-S application, and knowledge of the Model of Human Occupation. Material and methods: Data are based on 187 respondents’ answers to a web-based questionnaire and analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: In total, the respondents performed 12 000 WRI-S assessments. The respondents were mainly satisfied with the clinical utility of the WRI-S and experienced the assessment as supporting clinical practice. The main hindrance affecting clinical utility was the amount of time needed for conducting a WRI-S assessment. Experienced users and users with very good knowledge of MOHO conduct WRI-S assessments in a more time-effective manner. Conclusion: This study contributes to further development of the clinical utility of the Swedish version of the WRI-S, mainly focusing on time consumption.

Key words:

• assessment
• model of human occupation
• vocational rehabilitation
• work ability
• WRI

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants for taking their time to share experiences of the WRI-S.

Declaration of interest: The authors disclose no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. This article is partly based on the first author’s master’s thesis.