title: The inter-rater reliability of Strain Index and OCRA Checklist task assessments in cheese processing.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to characterize the inter-rater reliability of two physical exposure assessment methods of the upper extremity, the Strain Index (SI) and Occupational Repetitive Actions (OCRA) Checklist. These methods are commonly used in occupational health studies and by occupational health practitioners. Seven raters used the SI and OCRA Checklist to assess task-level physical exposures to the upper extremity of workers performing 21 cheese manufacturing tasks. Inter-rater reliability was characterized using a single-measure, agreement-based intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Inter-rater reliability of SI assessments was moderate to good (ICC = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.45-0.73), a similar finding to prior studies. Inter-rater reliability of OCRA Checklist assessments was excellent (ICC = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.70-0.89). Task complexity had a small, but non-significant, effect on inter-rater reliability SI and OCRA Checklist scores. Both the SI and OCRA Checklist assessments possess adequate inter-rater reliability for the purposes of occupational health research and practice. The OCRA Checklist inter-rater reliability scores were among the highest reported in the literature for semi-quantitative physical exposure assessment tools of the upper extremity. The OCRA Checklist however, required more training time and time to conduct the risk assessments compared to the SI.
authors.affiliation: Colorado State University, Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences Department, 1681 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: rob.paulsen@rams.colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.affiliation: Universita' degli Studi di Sassari, Dipartimento di Agraria, Viale Italia. 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy. Electronic address: thomasgul@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gallu
authors.affiliation: Colorado State University, Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences Department, 1681 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: david.gilkey@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gilkey
authors.affiliation: Colorado State University, Department of Health and Exercise Science, 220 Moby B Complex, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: raoul.reiser@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Raoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.affiliation: Universita' degli Studi di Sassari, Dipartimento di Agraria, Viale Italia. 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy. Electronic address: dit_mecc@uniss.it.
authors.forename: Lelia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murgia
authors.affiliation: Colorado State University, Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences Department, 1681 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: john.rosecrance@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosecrance
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist; D002611:Cheese; D005525:Food-Processing Industry; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D016272:Occupational Health; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D013180:Sprains and Strains; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Exposure assessment; Inter-rater reliability; Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders