Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the “Health and Work Questionnaire” and Association of its Subscales with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Office Workers

Daneshmandi, Hadi; Choobineh, Alireza; Ghaem, Haleh; Fakherpour, Anahita

doi:10.30476/jhsss.2020.84982.1050

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Ergonomics, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

² Research Center for Health Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;

³ Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁴ Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/jhsss.2020.84982.1050

Abstract

Background: For an organization to be successful, the productivity of its employees is of vital importance.This study aimed to: 1) translate and examine the psychometric properties of the Health and Work Questionnaire (HWQ) among Iranian office workers, and 2) Determine the association between six subscales of the Persian version of HWQ (P-HWQ) and Work-related Musculoskeletal Symptoms (WMSs) among the subjects.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among office workers employed at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. In order to standardize the questionnaire, the English version of the HWQ was translated into Persian (the Iranian official language), using the standard “forward-backward” translation, cognitive debriefing, and cultural adaptation procedure. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine the WMSs prevalence rate among the subjects.
Results: 129 office workers, including 44 (34.1%) males and 85 (65.9%) females with a mean ± SD age of 36.22±7.72 years voluntarily participated in this study. Internal consistency of the P-HWQ was acceptable for all subscales (0.65≤α). Factor analysis of the P-HWQ for each item related to the subscale was acceptable (0.4<). The highest prevalence rates of WMSs in the last week were related to lower back (51.2%), neck (43.4%), and shoulders (41.1%). The concentration/focus subscale of productivity (derived from P-HWQ) was related to WMSs in participants.
Conclusion: The P-HWQ has good structural characteristics, is a valid and reliable instrument, and can be used for measuring the productivity of Iranian office workers. Improvement of working conditions is suggested to reduce the musculoskeletal problems, and enhancement of people’s concentration/focus and productivity.

Keywords

References

Clements-Croome D. Creative and productive workplaces: a review. Intell Build Int. 2015; 7(4): 164-83.

Appelbaum E, Bailey T, Berg P, Kalleberg AL. Manufacturing advantage: Why high-performance work systems pay off. Adm Sci Q. 2001; 46(4): 781-3.

Bevan S. Good work, high performance and productivity. Lancaster: The Work Foundation, Part of Lancaster University; 2012.

Ziaei M, Yarmohammadi H, Moradi M, Khandan M. Level of workload and its relationship with job burnout among administrative staff. Int J Occup Hyg. 2015;7(2):53-60.

Ziaei M, Hosseini SY, Shariati H, Khoshboo E. Association between occupational burnout and quality of life among healthcare workers. J Saf Promot Inj Prev. 2015;3(3):185-90.

Stewart WF, Ricci JA, Chee E, Morganstein D. Lost productive work time costs from health conditions in the United States: results from the American Productivity Audit. J Occup Env Med. 2003; 45(12):1234-46.

Leka S, Griffiths A, T C. Work Organization and Stress. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003.

Ziaei M, Yarmohammadi H, Karamimatin B, Yarmohammadi S, Nazari Z, Gharagozlou F. Prevalence and risk factors of occupational burnout among nurses of a hospital in Kermanshah in 2013. Iran J Ergon. 2014;2(2):67-74.

Hafner M, van Stolk C, Saunders C, Krapels J, Baruch B. Health, wellbeing and productivity in the workplace. Cambridge: RAND Europe Report; 2015.

Phillips C, Main C, Buck R, Aylward M, Wynne-Jones G, A. F. Prioritising pain in policy making: the need for a whole systems perspective. Health Policy. 2008;88:166–75.

Punnett L, Wegman DH. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders: the epidemiologic evidence and the debate. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2004;14(1):13-23.

Rempel DM, Harrison RJ, S. B. Work-related cumulative trauma disorders of the upper extremity. JAMA. 1992;267:838–42.

Meijer EM, Sluiter JK, MH. F-D. Is workstyle a mediating factor for pain in the upper extremity over time? J Occup Rehabil. 2008;18:262-6.

Haufler AJ, Feuerstein M, Huang GD. Job stress, upper extremity pain and functional limitations in symptomatic computer users. Am J Ind Med. 2000;38(5):507-15.

Ng YG, Tamrin SBM, Yik WM, Yusoff ISM. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder and association with productivity loss: a preliminary study among labour intensive manual harvesting activities in oil palm plantation. Ind Health. 2014;52(1):78-85.

Kumpikaitė V. Human resource training evaluation. Eng Econ. 2007; 55(5): 29-36.

Savanevičienė A, Girdauskienė L. Influence of knowledge culture on effective knowledge transfer. Eng Econ. 2007; 54(4): 36-43.

Stolk Cv, Hofman J, Hafner M, Janta B. Psychological Wellbeing and Work, Part of: Health, work and wellbeing- evidence and research Employment Mental health service reform. United Kingdom: Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health; 2014.

Shikiar R, Halpern MT, Rentz AM, Khan ZM. Development of the Health and Work Questionnaire (HWQ): an instrument for assessing workplace productivity in relation to worker health. Work. 2004; 22(3): 219-29.

Kuorinka I, Jonsson B, Kilbom A, Vinterberg H, Biering-Sørensen F, Andersson G, et al. Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Appl Ergon. 1987;18(3):233-7.

Choobineh A, Lahmi M, Shahnavaz H, Khani Jazani R, Hosseini M. Musculoskeletal symptoms as related to ergonomic factors in Iranian hand-woven carpet industry and general guidelines for workstation design. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2004;10(2):157-68.

Stangor C. Research methods for the behavioral sciences. 5^th ed. New York: Cengage Learning; 2014.

Halpern MT, Shikiar R, Rentz AM, Khan ZM. Impact of smoking status on workplace absenteeism and productivity. Tob Control. 2001; 10(3): 233-8.

Thorp AA, Kingwell BA, Owen N, Dunstan DW. Breaking up workplace sitting time with intermittent standing bouts improves fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort in overweight/obese office workers. Occup Environ Med. 2014; 71(11): 765-71.

Peterman JE, Healy GN, Winkler E, Moodie M, Eakin EG, Lawler SP, et al. A cluster randomized controlled trial to reduce office workers' sitting time: effect on productivity outcomes. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2019;45(5):483-92.

von Thiele Schwarz U, Sjöberg A, Hasson H, Tafvelin S. Measuring self-rated productivity: factor structure and variance component analysis of the health and work questionnaire. J Occup Environ Med. 2014; 56(12): 1302-7.

Rainbow JG, Gilbreath B, Steege LM. How to know if you’re really there: an evaluation of measures for presenteeism in nursing. J Occup Environ Med. 2019;61(2):25-32.

Choobineh A, Daneshmandi H, Saraj Zadeh Fard SK, Tabatabaee SH. Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among iworkforce and job groups. Int J Prev Med. 2016;7(1):130.

Choobineh AR, Daneshmandi H, Aghabeigi M, Haghayegh A. Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among employees of Iranian petrochemical industries: October 2009 to December 2012. Int J Occup Environ Med. 2013;4:195-204.

Aumann K, Galinsky E. The state of health in the American workforce: Does having an effective workplace matter. New York: Families and Work Institute; 2009.

Daneshmandi H, Choobineh AR, Ghaem H, Alhamd M, Fakherpour A. The Effect of Musculoskeletal Problems on Fatigue and Productivity of Office Personnel: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Prev Med Hyg. 2017; 58(3): 252–8.

Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the “Health and Work Questionnaire” and Association of its Subscales with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Office Workers

References

References

Volume 7, Issue 2
April 2019
Pages 100-107

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the “Health and Work Questionnaire” and Association of its Subscales with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Office Workers

References

References

Volume 7, Issue 2April 2019Pages 100-107

Volume 7, Issue 2
April 2019
Pages 100-107