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Validation of the work and health interview
Walter F Stewart1, Judith A Ricci, Carol Leotta
1The Advance PCS Center for Work and Health, Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA.wfstewart@geisinger.edu
Pharmacoeconomics
|December 23, 2004
Summary
The Work and Health Interview (WHI) accurately estimates missed work time and total productive time at a population level. It is moderately accurate for individual missed work time but less so for reduced performance.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Health Services Research
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Existing instruments for measuring work impact of illness lack direct translation to lost hours or costs.
- The Work and Health Interview (WHI) was developed to quantify lost productive time (LPT).
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the Work and Health Interview (WHI) questionnaire.
- To assess the WHI's ability to measure lost productive time (LPT) including work absence and reduced work performance.
Main Methods:
- The WHI was validated over two weeks using a sample of 67 inbound phone call agents.
- Validity was assessed against workplace data (absence, time away from station, performance) and electronic diary data from 48 participants.
Main Results:
- WHI and workplace data showed strong correlation (0.84) for missed work time over two weeks.
- Correlations for reduced performance time (0.19) and total productive time (0.50) were moderate.
- The WHI provided comparable estimates to diary and workplace data for total productive time.
Conclusions:
- The WHI accurately estimates missed work time and total productive time at a population level.
- Individual-level accuracy of the WHI is moderate for total missed time but not for reduced performance time.