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Work and Health Questionnaire (WHQ): A Screening Tool for Identifying Injured Workers at Risk for a Complicated Rehabilitation

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Abstract

Purpose Unintentional injuries occur frequently and many of the accident survivors suffer from temporary or permanent disabilities. Although most accident victims recover quickly, a significant fraction of them shows a complicated recovery process and accounts for the majority of disability costs. Thus, early identification of vulnerable persons may be beneficial for compensation schemes, government bodies, as well as for the worker themselves. Here we present the Work and Health Questionnaire (WHQ), a screening tool that is already implemented in the case management process of the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (Suva). Moreover, we demonstrate its prognostic value for identifying workers at risk of a complicated recovery process. Methods A total of 1963 injured workers answered the WHQ within the first 3 months after their accident. All of them had minor to moderate accidental injuries; severely injured workers were excluded from the analyses. The anonymized individual-level data were extracted from insurance databases. We examined construct validity by factorial analyses, and prognostic validity by hierarchical multiple regression analyses on days of work disability. Further, we evaluated well-being and job satisfaction 18 months post-injury in a subsample of 192 injured workers (9.8 %) Results Factor analyses supported five underlying factors (Job Design, Work Support, Job Strain, Somatic Condition/Pain, and Anxiety/Worries). These subscales were moderately correlated, thus indicating that different subscales measured different aspects of work and health-related risk factors of injured workers. Item analysis and reliability analysis showed accurate psychometric properties. Each subscale was predictive at least for one of the evaluated outcomes 18 months post-injury. Conclusion The WHQ shows good psychometric qualities with high clinical utility to identify injured persons with multiple psychosocial risk factors. Thus, the questionnaire appears to be suitable for exploring different rehabilitation needs among minor to moderate injured workers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Livia Kohli, Bettina Gerber, and Romy Schnyder for their help with the recruitment and data management, and Mey Boukenna and Madeleine Hänggli for their critical proofreading. The study was supported by the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (Suva). No commercial sponsorship was involved in the design and conduction of the study.

Funding

This study was supported by the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (Suva). No commercial sponsorship was involved in the design and conduction of the study.

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Correspondence to Sandra Abegglen.

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Conflict of interest

Sandra Abegglen, Ulrike Hoffmann-Richter, Volker Schade, Hans Jörg Znoj declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

‘All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.’ Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Commission University of Berne under reference No. 2011-04-172.

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Appendix: WHQ Items

Appendix: WHQ Items

No.

English version

German version

Rating scale

Origin scale

WHQ_Work

W1

Can you independently plan and organize your work?

Können Sie Ihre Arbeit selbständig planen und einteilen?

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W2

Can you learn something new in your job?

Können Sie bei Ihrer Arbeit Neues dazu lernen?

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W3

In my job, I can see from the result whether my work was good or not

Bei meiner Arbeit sehe ich selber am Ergebnis, ob meine Arbeit gut war oder nicht

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W4

In my work I can carry out a working task, from A to Z

Bei meiner Arbeit kann ich eine Sache oder ein Produkt von A bis Z herstellen resp. Ausführen

Likert scale (1–5)

SALSA

W5

My job is not ideal, but it could be even worse

Meine Arbeit ist zwar nicht gerade ideal, aber schliesslich könnte Sie noch schlimmer sein

Likert scale (1–7)

AZK

W6

I have too much work

Ich habe zu viel Arbeit

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W7

Needed information or working tools (e.g., computer) are often not available

Oft stehen mir die benötigten Informationen, Arbeitsmittel (z.B. Computer) nicht zur Verfügung

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W8

I am often interrupted in my work (e.g., telephone calls)

Ich werde bei meiner Arbeit immer wieder unterbrochen (z.B. durch Telefon)

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W9

The working conditions at my workplace are unfavorable. There are disturbances, such as noise, temperature, dust

An meinem Arbeitsplatz gibt es ungünstige Umgebungsbeding ungen wie Lärm, Klima, Staub

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W10

In case of any difficulties, I can rely on my colleagues

Ich kann mich auf meine Arbeitskollegen/-kolleginnen verlassen, wenn es bei der Arbeit schwierig wird

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W11

In case of any difficulties, I can rely on my boss/supervisor

Ich kann mich auf meine/n direkte/n Vorgesetzte/n verlassen, wenn es bei der Arbeit schwierig wird

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

W12

I always get feedback about the quality of my work from my colleagues or my supervisor

Ich bekomme von Vorgesetzten sowie Arbeitskollegen/-innen immer Rückmeldung über die Qualität meiner Arbeit

Likert scale (1–5)

KFZA

WHQ_Health

H1

Did you feel helpless during or after the accident?

Fühlten Sie sich während des Unfalls oder kurz danach hilflos?

0, 1

PTBS

H2

Do pictures about it (the accident) pop up into your mind?

Haben Sie plötzlich auftretende Bilder (vom Unfall) im Kopf?

0, 1

PTBS

H3

How would you describe your actual general health condition?

Wie würden Sie ihren gegenwärtigen Gesundheits-zustand beschreiben?

VAS (0–100)

IRES

H4

How often did you suffer from pain recently?

Wie häufig haben Sie in der letzten Zeit unter Schmerzen gelitten?

VAS (0–100)

IRES

H5

How much do you feel that this pain affects your daily life?

Wie stark fühlen Sie sich durch diese Schmerzen im täglichen Leben beeinträchtigt?

VAS (0–100)

IRES

H6

I think that I am not able to work normally within 3 months

Ich glaube, dass ich mindestens 3 Monate nicht normal arbeiten gehen kann

Likert scale (0–6)

FABQ

H7

(In the past week) I felt as if I am slowed down

(In der letzten Woche) fühlte ich mich in meinen Aktivitäten gebremst

Likert scale (0–3)

HADS

H8

(In the past week), worrying thoughts go through my mind

(In der letzten Woche) gingen mir beunruhigende Gedanken durch den Kopf

Likert scale (0–3)

HADS

H9

Have you recently been worrying about earning less in the future because of the accident?

Machen Sie sich in der letzten Zeit Sorgen darüber, dass Sie in Zukunft wegen des Unfalls weniger verdienen?

Likert scale (0–3)

SPE

H10

How much were you bothered or distressed over the past 7 days by feeling lonely?

Wie sehr litten Sie in den letzten 7 Tagen unter Einsamkeitsgefühlen?

Likert scale (0–4)

SCL-90

H11

How much were you bothered or distressed over the past 7 days by feeling fearful?

Wie sehr litten Sie in den letzten 7 Tagen unter Furchtsamkeit?

Likert scale (0–4)

SCL-90

  1. VAS visual analog scale, KFZA Kurzfragebogen zur Arbeitsanalyse [49], AKZ Arbeitszufriedenheitsskala [50], SALSA Subjektive Arbeitsanalyse [51], PTSB Screening Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung [52], IRES Indikatoren des Reha-Status [53], FABQ Fear Avoidance Belief Questionnaire [54], HADS Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale [55], SPE Skala zur Messung der subjektiven Prognose der Erwerbstätigkeit [56] SCL-90 Symptom Checklist 90 [57]

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Abegglen, S., Hoffmann-Richter, U., Schade, V. et al. Work and Health Questionnaire (WHQ): A Screening Tool for Identifying Injured Workers at Risk for a Complicated Rehabilitation. J Occup Rehabil 27, 268–283 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-016-9654-1

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