Quickscan assesses risk factors of long-term sickness absence: A cross-sectional (factorial) construct validation study

ObjectivesThe number of sick-listed employees has increased dramatically worldwide. Therefore, many countries aim to stimulate early and sustainable return to work opportunities to obtain better health outcomes and lower costs for disability pensions. To effectively orientate resources to patients with a high risk of not resuming work spontaneously, it is necessary to screen patients early in their sickness absence process. In this study, we validate “Quickscan”, a new instrument to assess return-to-work needs and to predict risks of long-term sick leave.MethodsAs part of the Quickscan validation process, we tested and compared the reliability and construct validity of the questionnaire in two different populations. First, we conducted a cross-sectional study in which the screening instrument was sent to sick-listed individuals in healthcare insurance. In a second cross-sectional study, sick-listed workers who consulted the occupational health physician for return-to-work assessment were asked to fill out the questionnaire. We compared both samples for descriptive statistics: frequencies, means and standard deviations. Reliability of the scales was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the construct (factorial) validity of the studied scales using software package AMOS 24.ResultsThe screening tool was shown to be an instrument with reliable scales (except for the perfectionism and health perception patient scale) in both populations. The construct validity was satisfactory: we found that the hypothesized measurement models with the theoretical factors fitted the data well in both populations. In the first sample, the model improved for scales concerning stressful life events and showed worse fit for person-related factors. Work-related factors and functioning factors both showed similar fit indices across samples. We found small differences in descriptive statistics, which we could explain by the differences in characteristics of both populations.ConclusionsWe can conclude that the instrument has considerable potential to function as a screening tool for disability management and follow-up of sick-leave, provided that some adaptations and validation tests are executed.研究目的 全球范围内病假员工的数量呈急剧增长态势。因此，诸多国家致力于推动早期且可持续的重返工作岗位（return-to-work）路径，以获取更佳的健康结局，并降低伤残抚恤金相关成本。为将医疗资源精准定向至无法自发重返工作岗位的高风险人群，有必要在员工病假缺勤初期即开展筛查。本研究对一款名为“Quickscan”的新型筛查工具进行验证，该工具可用于评估重返工作岗位需求，并预测长期病假风险。 研究方法 作为Quickscan验证流程的组成部分，我们在两类不同人群中对该问卷的信度与结构效度进行了测试与比较。首先开展一项横断面研究，将筛查工具发放至医疗保险覆盖范围内的病假员工；第二项横断面研究中，邀请为评估重返工作岗位情况而咨询职业健康医师的病假员工填写该问卷。我们对两个样本的描述性统计数据进行对比，涵盖频次、均值与标准差。量表信度采用克朗巴赫α系数（Cronbach’s alpha）进行计算。使用AMOS 24统计软件包开展验证性因子分析，以评估所研究量表的结构（因子）效度。 研究结果 该筛查工具的各量表在两类人群中均表现出良好信度（完美主义与健康感知患者量表除外）。结构效度表现令人满意：包含理论因子的假设测量模型在两类人群中均与数据拟合良好。在第一组样本中，针对应激性生活事件的量表拟合效果有所提升，而与个体相关的因子拟合效果则较差。与工作相关的因子及功能相关因子在两个样本中均展现出相似的拟合指数。我们在描述性统计数据中发现细微差异，可通过两类人群的特征差异予以解释。 研究结论 综上，只要开展部分适配性调整与验证测试，该工具即可作为伤残管理及病假随访的筛查工具，具备可观的应用潜力。