Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025
Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Work-readiness self report lift capacity test short form
Leonard N Matheson1,2, Joe L Verna1,3, John M Mayer1
1The Vert Mooney Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA.
Background:
The Multidimensional Task Ability Profile (MTAP) is a measure of self reported physical work capacity developed for injured workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to determine readiness to return to work.
Objective:
This study compared the concurrent validity of a new short form MTAP (MTAP-SF) comprised of 16 lifting and/or carrying items with the MTAP 55-item version. The hypothesis addressed is whether the validity of a version that imposes less respondent burden (MTAP-SF) would be comparable to the more burdensome instrument (MTAP-55).
Methods:
MTAP scores were compared with demonstrated lift capacity in 1,252 healthy adults. Parallel regression analyses were conducted to examine the explanatory power of both MTAP versions.
Results:
Age, gender, body mass and MTAP-SF explained 55% of the variance (p < 0.001) in demonstrated lift capacity, equivalent to MTAP-55.
Conclusions:
Self reported performance in physical work capacity tasks accounts for significant variance in lifting performance. MTAP-SF diminishes respondent burden while maintaining validity and may be useful for managing MSDs by enhancing understanding of the evaluee's psychophysical component in return-to-work rehabilitation planning.
