Content validity and inter-rater reliability of a checklist to assess the ergonomic practice of computer professionals

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study is to establish the Content validity and inter-rater reliability of an instrument (Checklist) to assess ergonomic practice of Computer professionals using a rigorous Judgment-quantification process and Intra-class correlation coefficient respectively. Methods and Measures: The Draft Checklist composed of 43 items related to Working Postures, Seating, Keyboard/Mouse, Monitor, Table and Accessories and finally Rest breaks and Exercises. A panel of 9 experts validated the Draft Ergonomic Practice Checklist. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated after receiving all correspondence regarding content validity for each item of the checklist. Finally, a Focus group was held to evaluate the instrument for overall comprehensiveness. A total of 20 computer professionals both males and females of mean age of 33.8 years participated in the inter-rater reliability study. The raters of this study were 2 Physiotherapy faculties with mean clinical and teaching experience of 7.5 years. Both the raters assessed the ergonomic practice of the computer professionals using the checklist. Observations were recorded independently and not discussed among the raters. Analysis: The Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated by tallying the results of the experts based on the degree to which the experts agree on the relevance and clarity of the items. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to assess the inter-rater reliability of the ergonomic practice checklist based on the observations recorded independently by the raters. Results: Results from the panel of experts yielded a 0.98 overall Content validity index. Inter-rater reliability analysis revealed that r value was above 0.87 for all the sections of the checklist thus being in the excellent range. Conclusion: The process used to determine Content validity and the inter-rater reliability proved to offer structure and consistency to the instrument development. High CVI scores were generated for the items judged relevant to the content domain as well as for the overall instrument. The checklist demonstrated an excellent reliability. The results support the Content validity and the inter-rater reliability of this Checklist as a tool to assess the Ergonomic Practice of Computer Professionals.