Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) in Iranian construction workers.

Abstract

The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) is an instrument to identify occupational risk factors, and to screen subjects for the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in their workplace. The aim of this prospective observational study was the cross-cultural adaptation of the QEC for Persian (QEC-Pr) speaking workers and the determination of the minimally required psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, in a Persian population. The forward-backward translation was completed according to the published guidelines. A total of 217 male construction workers were recruited. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool was used as the criterion. The Inter- and intra-rater reliability was performed respectively in a sub-sample of n = 50 and n = 30. Convergent validity was determined from the correlation between the QEC-Pr and the RULA. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α. High levels of inter-rater reliability (ICC2.1 range = 0.79-0.93), intra-rater reliability (ICC2.1 range = 0.74-0.89) and internal consistency (α= 0.74) were obtained. Concurrent validity between the different sections of the QEC and RULA scores were determined to be fair but below the desired level (range r = 0.41-0.44). The QEC-Pr can be applied as a specific risk assessment instrument for different occupational situations, such as the construction industry, in Persian language populations.