Manuscript title: limited suitability for single item work ability to replace work ability index: a Brazilian cross-sectional study

Abstract

The Work Ability Index (WAI) evaluates how workers are at present and in the near future with respect to work demands, health, and mental resources. Since this questionnaire is time consuming, a single-item question (work ability score - WAS) has been used to replace the WAI. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the work ability index (WAI) and WAS, adjusted by age, sex and occupation. Workers (N = 379) from different economic sectors answered a questionnaire addressing demographic information and the WAI. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients and partial correlations. Moderate correlations were found between the WAI and WAS (r_s=0,49). Stronger correlations were found between the WAI and other WAI Dimensions: Diagnosed Diseases, Work Demands and Work Loss (r_s>0.60). The partial correlation results showed that the correlation between the WAI and WAS increased when adjusted by sex, age and occupation (r = 0.60), but remained lower than other coefficients. Therefore, we cannot recommend the use of WAS instead of the WAI for Brazilian workers according to the correlation found.

Keywords:

• Work ability score
• ergonomics
• occupational health services
• occupations
• psychometrics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the PIBIC/CNPq/UFSCar for granting a scholarship.

Notes on contributors

Adrielle Moraes Cazotti

Adrielle Moraes Cazotti is a graduate student in the Physical Therapy Department at Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brazil. Her research interests include measurement properties used in occupational health.

Tatiana de Oliveira Sato

Tatiana de Oliveira Sato is associate professor in Physical Therapy at Universidade Federal de São Carlos. Her research interests include work related musculoskeletal disorders, occupational risk assessment and the effect of ergonomic interventions. She has performed several studies on the evaluation of musculoskeletal symptoms in different occupational groups and the effects of ergonomic interventions to manage musculoskeletal symptoms.

Rosimeire Simprini Padula

Rosimeire Simprini Padula is associate professor of the Master’s and Doctoral Program in Physiotherapy at Universidade Cidade de São Paulo. Her interests include Occupational Health, Ergonomics and Physical Therapy Education. She has conducted studies on observational biomechanical exposure methods, musculoskeletal disease epidemiology, workplace-based interventions, measurement properties used in occupational health, and educational methods.

Cristiane Moriguchi

Cristiane Shinohara Moriguchi is associate professor in Physical Therapy at Universidade Federal de São Carlos. Her research interest include occupational biomechanics, need for recovery and subjective health complaints at work. She has performed several studies on posture exposure at work, measurement properties for health outcomes instruments and ergonomics interventions.