Affiliations: CRS Australia, PO Box 40773, Casuarina, NT 0811,
Australia. Tel.: +61 8 8920 8000; Fax: +61 8 8920 8022; E-mail:
nicola.tuckwell@crsrehab.gov.au | School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of
Technology, Perth, Western Australia | Allianz Insurance Australia
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: The Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE) is one of many
functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) currently available to assist with
determining injured workers' physical potential to return to work. Previous
research has explored interrater reliability, construct and predictive validity
of the PWPE. This research examined test-retest reliability on a sample of 24
clients with stable physical injuries who were participating in vocational
rehabilitation. Nine of the 21 main tasks of the PWPE were evaluated: lifting
floor to waist, bilateral carrying, pushing, sitting, standing, kneeling, stair
climbing, repetitive squatting and walking. Kappa scores ranged from 0.19
(error) to 0.77 and percent agreement from 66.7% kneeling, lifting floor to
waist, bilateral carrying and pushing tasks suggest substantial test-retest
reliability with moderate reliability also suggested for the standing and
repetitive squatting tasks. Self-limiting behavior and alterations in pain
scores, position adjustments and movement deviations are seen to be the main
contributors to affect scoring between the first and second tests.
