Affiliations: [a] Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey
| [b] Dokuz Eylül University, School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Izmir, Turkey
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Turhan Kahraman, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, TR 35620, Turkey. Tel.: +90 232 329 35 35; Fax: +90 232 325 33 57; E-mail: turhan.kahraman@yahoo.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Although it is necessary to regularly record and assess physical workloads in a workplace to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders, there is no easy to use, valid and reliable questionnaire such as the Physical Workload Questionnaire (PWQ) in Turkish. OBJECTIVE:To linguistically and culturally adapt the PWQ into Turkish, and to examine the validity and reliability of this adapted version. METHODS:One hundred twenty-six participants were recruited. All participants filled in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. To determine test-retest reliability, all participants filled in the PWQ after a time interval of one week. RESULTS:There was a significant difference in the PWQ indices between the participants with an occupation requires less vs. higher workload (p < 0.05). The PWQ index was significantly correlated with the proximal musculoskeletal symptoms (ρ= 0.301, p < 0.05), but not significantly correlated with distal musculoskeletal symptoms (ρ= 0.121, p > 0.05). The PWQ index was significantly correlated with the ODI (ρ= 0.193, p < 0.05). The internal consistency of the PWQ was excellent (α= 0.865) and item-total correlations were acceptable. Test-retest reliability was high (ICC = 0.865). CONCLUSIONS:The PWQ is the unique valid and reliable questionnaire available in Turkish for assessing physical workload due to body posture and strenuous effort during work.
