Worker Role Interview: testing the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version.
In Iceland, the worker role is one of the most enacted and valued roles, but the national disability rate is increasing and is often associated with the loss of the worker role. Resources in work rehabilitation in Iceland are disjointed, and the Ministry of Health and Social Security is calling for more focused and effective services in the field of work rehabilitation. One step towards reaching the goal of more effective services is having a reliable and theory-based assessment tool available to clinicians. The Worker Role Interview (WRI) is a psychometrically sound assessment tool based on the Model of Human Occupation. WRI assesses the psychosocial and environmental factors influencing injured and disabled workers' ability to return to work. This article examines the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the WRI (WRI-IS) in order to determine whether therapists can use the instrument in a consistent and dependable manner. Fourteen Icelandic occupational therapists completed the WRI-IS with 146 clients who intended to return to work. Eleven of the interviewed clients were videotaped and rated by more than one therapist. Total ratings were 249. A many-faceted Rasch measurement (MFRM) approach was used to analyze the WRI-IS. Fifteen of the 17 WRI-IS items showed acceptable fit to the measurement model, and the items represented a meaningful continuum of psychosocial ability to return to work. The 14 therapists and over 95% of the clients showed acceptable fit to the model. The results indicate that the WRI-IS can generate reliable and valid measures of a client's psychosocial ability to return to work.
Fenger
Kristjana
K
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Akureyri, Iceland. kfenger@unak.is
Kramer
Jessica M
JM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D011594:Psychometrics; D018582:Sick Leave; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires