Functional Capacity Evaluation includes manual materials handling as a primary component. Return ... more Functional Capacity Evaluation includes manual materials handling as a primary component. Return to work decisions are often made or influenced by both the heaviest amount of weight that can be safely lifted and the weight that can be handled repetitiously. Kinesiophysical observational criteria were developed to allow trained judges to categorize lifting in order to identify the category of lift effort. Bothinter rater and intrarater reliability were high. When light or heavy categories were isolated for accuracy there were no errors in judge's ratings.
BACKGROUND: The 2001 Feasibility Evaluation Checklist (FEC) is an assessment of work readiness fo... more BACKGROUND: The 2001 Feasibility Evaluation Checklist (FEC) is an assessment of work readiness for individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). It establishes the integrity of basic safety, productivity, and interpersonal factors in neurorehabilitation and vocational settings. This study represents an effort to further develop the FEC to increase its clinical utility. OBJECTIVE: To redesign the FEC by conducting Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses on the study’s results and combining those mathematical calibrations with clinical expert judgement. The result will be a new measure for use in clinical ABI neurorehabilitation and vocational settings: the Employment Feasibility Checklist (EFC). METHODS: Seven participants with ABI were administered a situational assessment on multiple occasions by occupational therapists in a community rehabilitation clinic. The FEC was used to assess the participant’s performance across three areas of basic employment feasibility: safety, productivity,...
Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) are routinely used in physical medicine to ascertain an in... more Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) are routinely used in physical medicine to ascertain an individual's work ability; with lift capacity being an important aspect of many evaluations. Despite the widespread use of lift capacity tests, there are few studies that provide age and gender normative data. To evaluate the safety, reliability, and validity of the EPIC Lift Capacity test, and to examine the effects of age and gender on lift capacity. This study used a test-retest design with 4,443 adult participants in good general health. Test-retest of participants' lift capacity was undertaken to examine safety and reliability. Age and gender and the self-reported physical demands of each employed participant's usual and customary job were collected to examine validity. Safety and reliability were demonstrated for both measures of lift capacity for each of the six sub-tests in the EPIC Lift Capacity test battery. Inter-subtest differences and expected age and gender differ...
The development of the Functional Assessment Measures Database is described. The database provide... more The development of the Functional Assessment Measures Database is described. The database provides a method to organize and search for measures that are used to assess the functional abilities of people with medical impairments to determine work disability. The project identified 4,200 different measures that are used in the functional assessment of persons with disability across the life span, 812 of which are used to evaluate adults in terms of work disability. The database has 3,033 scales that are found in 633 measures. In the database, each measure is described and is linked to at least one functional assessment construct. The use of the database in the Social Security Administration Redesign Project is described. Other possible uses for the database are presented.
The development of the Functional Assessment Taxonomy is described and the taxonomy is presented.... more The development of the Functional Assessment Taxonomy is described and the taxonomy is presented. The taxonomy provides a method to classify and organize constructs that are used to assess the functional abilities of people with medical impairments to determine work disability. The taxonomy has 131 constructs that are organized into 33 conceptual factors that are nested in 5 domains. Each construct is defined and is categorized in terms of the work disability model and the unit of analysis that is commonly used to measure the construct. The use of the taxonomy in the Disability Methodology Redesign Project is described. Other possible uses for the taxonomy are presented.
The construct validity of the Hand Function Sort (HFS) was investigated in 126 adults of working ... more The construct validity of the Hand Function Sort (HFS) was investigated in 126 adults of working age (65% male) with medical impairments. Principal components factor analysis identified one major factor and two minor factors, which was consistent with the findings of a subsequent Harris Image Analysis. A Kaiser Image Analysis identified seven factors, partitioning the first global factor. Construct validity also was studied. HFS scores of subjects who had impairment of the dominant upper extremity were compared with subjects whose dominant upper extremities were not impaired. Significant differences were found between groups for total scores and in categories of tasks for which hand dominance was likely to be important. Conversely, there were no significant differences with tasks for which hand dominance was not important. HFS scores were compared with grip strength, which accounted for significant variance in the total HFS score. When categories of tasks were considered, substantia...
BACKGROUND: Although diagnosis and treatment of depressive illness is outside the scope of practi... more BACKGROUND: Although diagnosis and treatment of depressive illness is outside the scope of practice for non-behavioral health practitioners such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, kinesiotherapists, and chiropractors, it frequently is comorbid with painful musculoskeletal disorders such as low back pain and it negatively affects outcomes, including return to work. As psychologically-informed practice becomes more widely implemented without the immediate availability of behavioral health practitioners, safe and effective methods to screen for and appropriately triage depressive illness by nonbehavioral health practitioners are necessary. OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the efficacy and validity of a method employed by non-behavioral health practitioners to screen for and appropriately triage musculoskeletal pain patients who also are experiencing depressive illness. METHODS: As part of a previously-published psychometric research study conducted in a community-based musculos...
Functional Capacity Evaluation includes manual materials handling as a primary component. Return ... more Functional Capacity Evaluation includes manual materials handling as a primary component. Return to work decisions are often made or influenced by both the heaviest amount of weight that can be safely lifted and the weight that can be handled repetitiously. Kinesiophysical observational criteria were developed to allow trained judges to categorize lifting in order to identify the category of lift effort. Bothinter rater and intrarater reliability were high. When light or heavy categories were isolated for accuracy there were no errors in judge's ratings.
BACKGROUND: The 2001 Feasibility Evaluation Checklist (FEC) is an assessment of work readiness fo... more BACKGROUND: The 2001 Feasibility Evaluation Checklist (FEC) is an assessment of work readiness for individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). It establishes the integrity of basic safety, productivity, and interpersonal factors in neurorehabilitation and vocational settings. This study represents an effort to further develop the FEC to increase its clinical utility. OBJECTIVE: To redesign the FEC by conducting Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses on the study’s results and combining those mathematical calibrations with clinical expert judgement. The result will be a new measure for use in clinical ABI neurorehabilitation and vocational settings: the Employment Feasibility Checklist (EFC). METHODS: Seven participants with ABI were administered a situational assessment on multiple occasions by occupational therapists in a community rehabilitation clinic. The FEC was used to assess the participant’s performance across three areas of basic employment feasibility: safety, productivity,...
Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) are routinely used in physical medicine to ascertain an in... more Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) are routinely used in physical medicine to ascertain an individual's work ability; with lift capacity being an important aspect of many evaluations. Despite the widespread use of lift capacity tests, there are few studies that provide age and gender normative data. To evaluate the safety, reliability, and validity of the EPIC Lift Capacity test, and to examine the effects of age and gender on lift capacity. This study used a test-retest design with 4,443 adult participants in good general health. Test-retest of participants' lift capacity was undertaken to examine safety and reliability. Age and gender and the self-reported physical demands of each employed participant's usual and customary job were collected to examine validity. Safety and reliability were demonstrated for both measures of lift capacity for each of the six sub-tests in the EPIC Lift Capacity test battery. Inter-subtest differences and expected age and gender differ...
The development of the Functional Assessment Measures Database is described. The database provide... more The development of the Functional Assessment Measures Database is described. The database provides a method to organize and search for measures that are used to assess the functional abilities of people with medical impairments to determine work disability. The project identified 4,200 different measures that are used in the functional assessment of persons with disability across the life span, 812 of which are used to evaluate adults in terms of work disability. The database has 3,033 scales that are found in 633 measures. In the database, each measure is described and is linked to at least one functional assessment construct. The use of the database in the Social Security Administration Redesign Project is described. Other possible uses for the database are presented.
The development of the Functional Assessment Taxonomy is described and the taxonomy is presented.... more The development of the Functional Assessment Taxonomy is described and the taxonomy is presented. The taxonomy provides a method to classify and organize constructs that are used to assess the functional abilities of people with medical impairments to determine work disability. The taxonomy has 131 constructs that are organized into 33 conceptual factors that are nested in 5 domains. Each construct is defined and is categorized in terms of the work disability model and the unit of analysis that is commonly used to measure the construct. The use of the taxonomy in the Disability Methodology Redesign Project is described. Other possible uses for the taxonomy are presented.
The construct validity of the Hand Function Sort (HFS) was investigated in 126 adults of working ... more The construct validity of the Hand Function Sort (HFS) was investigated in 126 adults of working age (65% male) with medical impairments. Principal components factor analysis identified one major factor and two minor factors, which was consistent with the findings of a subsequent Harris Image Analysis. A Kaiser Image Analysis identified seven factors, partitioning the first global factor. Construct validity also was studied. HFS scores of subjects who had impairment of the dominant upper extremity were compared with subjects whose dominant upper extremities were not impaired. Significant differences were found between groups for total scores and in categories of tasks for which hand dominance was likely to be important. Conversely, there were no significant differences with tasks for which hand dominance was not important. HFS scores were compared with grip strength, which accounted for significant variance in the total HFS score. When categories of tasks were considered, substantia...
BACKGROUND: Although diagnosis and treatment of depressive illness is outside the scope of practi... more BACKGROUND: Although diagnosis and treatment of depressive illness is outside the scope of practice for non-behavioral health practitioners such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, kinesiotherapists, and chiropractors, it frequently is comorbid with painful musculoskeletal disorders such as low back pain and it negatively affects outcomes, including return to work. As psychologically-informed practice becomes more widely implemented without the immediate availability of behavioral health practitioners, safe and effective methods to screen for and appropriately triage depressive illness by nonbehavioral health practitioners are necessary. OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the efficacy and validity of a method employed by non-behavioral health practitioners to screen for and appropriately triage musculoskeletal pain patients who also are experiencing depressive illness. METHODS: As part of a previously-published psychometric research study conducted in a community-based musculos...
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