title: Reliability of the JobFit System Pre-Employment Functional Assessment Tool.
abstract: Functional capacity testing in the pre-employment or post-offer phase of recruitment is increasing in popularity as a preventative tool for controlling sprains and strains in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to determine the reliability of the JobFit System Pre-Employment Functional Assessment (PEFA) as a whole, or in parts, as a precursor for a validity study investigating the relationship between PEFA results and workplace injury rates and severity. A group of 28 healthy male coal mine employees were videotaped whilst they participated in a generic JobFit System Pre-Employment Functional Assessment (PEFA) including tests of aerobic physical fitness, balance, postural tolerances and material handling tolerances. Twenty participants performed a second trial. The test component scores and overall PEFA scores were compared between trials (test-retest, intra-rater) and assessors (inter-rater) to determine their reliability expressed in terms of ICC. Using an ICC score of > 0.75 as good and > 0.90 as excellent, in conjunction with percentage agreement a good to excellent reliability rating was allocated to the overall PEFA score, floor to bench lift, bench to overhead lift, bilateral carry and climbing. A moderate to good rating was recorded for bench to shoulder lifts, reaching forward, reaching overhead and stooping. A poor to moderate rating was recorded for squatting, balance and fitness tests. Test-retest scores were typically lower than intra-tester and inter-tester scores. ICC scores should be interpreted with consideration of their limitations and in conjunction with the actual test results.
authors.affiliation: JobFit Systems International Pty Ltd, PO Box 8740, Mt Pleasant, QLD 4740, Australia. jenny.legge@jobfitsystem.com
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Legge
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burgess-Limerick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D015588:Observer Variation; D004856:Postural Balance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation