Affiliations: [a]
The Vert Mooney Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
| [b]
Epic Neurorehabilitation & Psychology Services, Chico, CA, USA
| [c] Spine & Sport, San Diego, CA, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Leonard N. Matheson, Epic Neurorehabilitation and Psychology Services, 2388 Bloomington Ave, Chico, California, USA 95928. Tel.: +1 636 346 8869; E-mail: LNMatheson@usssf.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The Multidimensional Task Ability Profile (MTAP) is a measure of self reported physical work capacity developed for injured workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to determine readiness to return to work. OBJECTIVE:This study compared the concurrent validity of a new short form MTAP (MTAP-SF) comprised of 16 lifting and/or carrying items with the MTAP 55-item version. The hypothesis addressed is whether the validity of a version that imposes less respondent burden (MTAP-SF) would be comparable to the more burdensome instrument (MTAP-55). METHODS:MTAP scores were compared with demonstrated lift capacity in 1,252 healthy adults. Parallel regression analyses were conducted to examine the explanatory power of both MTAP versions. RESULTS:Age, gender, body mass and MTAP-SF explained 55% of the variance (p < 0.001) in demonstrated lift capacity, equivalent to MTAP-55. CONCLUSIONS:Self reported performance in physical work capacity tasks accounts for significant variance in lifting performance. MTAP-SF diminishes respondent burden while maintaining validity and may be useful for managing MSDs by enhancing understanding of the evaluee’s psychophysical component in return-to-work rehabilitation planning.
Keywords: Musculoskeletal disorders, work capacity evaluation, return to work, functional capacity evaluation, physical functional performance, occupational health, disability evaluation
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-230438
Journal: Work, vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 1829-1841, 2024
