Using the interviewer-administered version of Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire (WORQ) in Russia: cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties in traumatic spinal cord injury

Abstract

Purpose

(1) To perform a cross-cultural adaptation of Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire to Russian (WORQ-R); (2) to report the psychometric properties of WORQ-R in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI).

Materials and methods

WORQ is designed to evaluate the work functioning of individuals who are engaged in vocational rehabilitation. We performed a formal cross-cultural adaptation of WORQ from English to Russian utilizing a standardized 3-step approach. We examined the psychometric properties of WORQ-R in terms of its reliability and construct validity through the use of classical and modern test theory in the TSCI population.

Results

The adaptation process achieved equivalence between Russian and English versions of WORQ. WORQ-R proved to cover major issues concerning functioning in vocational rehabilitation and was simple to understand. The internal consistency of WORQ-R was good (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.83). Rasch analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of the WORQ-scale and high reliability (PSI = 0.97) based on a testlet solution. WORQ-R score showed a strong negative correlation with the Functional Independence Measure, moderate negative correlation with the Spinal Cord Independence Measure Version III and the SF-36, moderate positive correlation with the Spinal Cord Injury Secondary Conditions Scale.

Conclusions

WORQ-R showed good validity and reliability in persons with TSCI allowing vocational professionals to have comprehensive information on vocational functioning.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• SCI is a disabling condition that causes impairments in body structure and function leading to activity limitations and participation restrictions.

• WORQ is a generic tool that allows for an assessment of work-related aspects of functioning in different populations of persons with disabilities.

• This study demonstrates the psychometric properties of the Russian version of WORQ in the SCI population.

• WORQ-R is recommended as a tool to describe the biopsychosocial and related vocational background to gain a better understanding of needs among SCI persons in terms of vocational rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• Data collection
• linguistics
• psychometrics
• rehabilitation
• vocational
• spinal cord injuries
• surveys and questionnaires

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Author contributions

E. Vasilchenko was responsible for designing the research study, performing the correlational analysis, interpreting results, overall formulation of the hypothesis, and manuscript preparation. K. Karapetian was responsible for the assessment of reliability and validity, interpreting results, performing a translation and linguistic analysis, and assistance with manuscript preparation. M. Finger was responsible for data analysis, interpretation of results, and writing of the manuscript. R. Escorpizo was responsible for data analysis, interpretation of results, and writing of the manuscript. R. Escorpizo also assisted with the cross-cultural adaptation process.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.