Development of the Prevent for Work questionnaire (P4Wq) for assessment of musculoskeletal risk in the workplace: part 1—literature review and domains selection

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aims to define appropriate domains and items for the development of a self-administered questionnaire to assess the risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) and the risk of its progression to chronicity.DesignLiterature review and survey study.Setting and participantsA literature review and a two-round interview with 15 experts in musculoskeletal pain were performed to identify the available domains for WMSD assessment.Interventions and outcomeTo ensure quality, only validated questionnaires were included for the Delphi process. A three-round Delphi method, with three round steps, was used to select the most pertinent and relevant domains and items.ResultsNine questionnaires were identified through the expert discussion and literature review, comprising 38 candidate domains and 504 items. In the first round of the Delphi group, 17 domains reached more than 70% agreement and were selected. In the second round, 10 domains were rejected, while 11 were selected to complete the pool of domains. In the third and final round, 89 items belonging to 28 domains were defined as significant to develop a WMSDs risk assessment questionnaire.ConclusionsNo specific risk assessment questionnaires for WMSDs were identified from the literature. WMSD risk of presence and chronicity can be defined by an assessment tool based on the biopsychosocial model and the fear-avoidance components of chronic pain. The present study provides the formulation and operationalisation of the constructs in domains and items needed for developing and validating the questionnaire.

Development of the Prevent for Work Questionnaire (P4Wq) for the assessment of musculoskeletal risk factors in the workplace: part 2—pilot study for questionnaire development and validation

“… 23 The questionnaire development process began with a literature review and a Delphi study to identify domains and items for the pilot study. 19 PBerjano and FL designed the project for P4Wq development by following standards and criteria defined by the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments guidelines for content validity evaluation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). 24 Figure 1 illustrates parts one and two of the workflow of questionnaire development.…”

“…The initial WMSDs risk assessment questionnaire was developed based on 89 selected items in 28 domains that covered two factors. 19 The items and domains identified in the expert analysis moved into the pilot study phase after full approval of the contents by the labour unions, which then revised and approved the questionnaire and its domains before the pilot study was started.…”

“…The literature suggests that the risk of developing WMSDs and their progression to chronicity may be captured by a questionnaire investigating physical and psychosocial domains, including a biopsychosocial model of disease and fear-avoidance components of chronic pain. 19 With this in mind, the primary aim of this study was to develop a multifactorial self-administered questionnaire (Prevent for Work Questionnaire (P4Wq)) to investigate risk factors for WMSDs. The secondary objective was to compare the psychometric properties of the P4Wq against previously developed questionnaires to determine the construct behaviour of its final version.…”

European knowledge alliance for innovative measures in prevention of work-related musculoskeletal pain disorders (Prevent4Work Project): protocol for an international mixed-methods longitudinal study

“…A part of this initiative is the risk assessment questionnaire (P4W questionnaire) that has recently been developed to detect populations at high risk of suffering work-related MSK pain. 13 Moreover, innovative educational programmes will be introduced, and adaptive mobile interactive digital platforms, capable of delivering evidence-based information and collect data, will be continuously developed (online supplemental table 1).…”

“…This self-perceived risk assessment questionnaire was developed to detect populations at high risk of work-related MSK pain. 13 The instrument uses a biopsychosocial approach based on 20 items with a 5-point Likert scale which investigates four different domains: physical stress, mental stress, job satisfaction and kinesiophobia.…”