Abstract
BackgroundWorking conditions substantially influence health, work ability and sick leave. Useful instruments to help clinicians pay attention to working conditions are lacking in primary care (PC). The aim of this study was to test the validity of a short “Blue flags” questionnaire, which focuses on work-related psychosocial risk factors and any potential need for contacts and/or actions at the workplace.MethodsFrom the original“The General Nordic Questionnaire” (QPSNordic) the research group identified five content areas with a total of 51 items which were considered to be most relevant focusing on work-related psychosocial risk factors. Fourteen items were selected from the identified QPSNordic content areas and organised in a short questionnaire “Blue flags”. These 14 items were validated towards the 51 QPSNordic items. Content validity was reviewed by a professional panel and a patient panel. Structural and concurrent validity were also tested within a randomised clinical trial.ResultsThe two panels (n = 111) considered the 14 psychosocial items to be relevant. A four-factor model was extracted with an explained variance of 25.2%, 14.9%, 10.9% and 8.3% respectively. All 14 items showed satisfactory loadings on all factors. Concerning concurrent validity the overall correlation was very strong rs = 0.87 (p < 0.001).). Correlations were moderately strong for factor one, rs = 0.62 (p < 0.001) and factor two, rs = 0.74 (p < 0.001). Factor three and factor four were weaker, bur still fair and significant at rs = 0.53 (p < 0.001) and rs = 0.41 (p < 0.001) respectively. The internal consistency of the whole “Blue flags” was good with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.76.ConclusionsThe content, structural and concurrent validity were satisfactory in this first step of development of the “Blue flags” questionnaire. In summary, the overall validity is considered acceptable. Testing in clinical contexts and in other patient populations is recommended to ensure predictive validity and usefulness.
Highlights
Working conditions substantially influence health, work ability and sick leave
Working conditions are of great importance and influence health, work ability and sick leave [1]
The aim of this study was to test the validity of a short “Blue flags” questionnaire, which focuses on work-related psychosocial risk factors and any potential need for contacts and/or actions at the workplace
Summary
Working conditions substantially influence health, work ability and sick leave. Useful instruments to help clinicians pay attention to working conditions are lacking in primary care (PC). In Sweden, the employer’s responsibility for the work environment and work organisations is quite far-reaching and is regulated in law (Work Environment Act). This includes the physical work environment, and the psychosocial and organisational working conditions. This means that the employer is responsible for doing systematic risk assessments on a regular basis and take actions based on this [3, 4]. Patients with work disability are often seen in primary care (PC) and one of the PCsassignments is to support recovery and improve work ability, and methods to help cliniciansaddress work-related factors are needed
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