Inter-rater reliability of physical examinations in a prospective study of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bonauto DK ; Silverstein BA ; Smith CK ; WilcoxD
• Description:
  OBJECTIVE: To test the inter-rater reliability of physical examinations for upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. METHODS: A total of 111 subjects were examined by both an occupational medicine physician and a physical therapist, who were blinded to each others' tests results and subjects' current symptoms and health histories. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability was moderate to excellent (0.52 to 0.88) for shoulder tests but required the inclusion of symptoms for increased inter-rater reliability of fair to excellent (0.27 to 0.57) for the elbow and hand/wrist tests. CONCLUSIONS: With the lack of "gold standard" tests, it is important that epidemiologic field studies conduct and report inter-rater reliability testing results between study examiners. It is important for researchers to report the results of inter-rater reliability, so that practitioners can weigh the results of study findings to improve both their diagnosis and treatment of these costly injuries. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Epidemiology Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Biomechanics Injuries Mathematical-models Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Posture Quantitative-analysis Risk-analysis Skeletal-system-disorders
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038288
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2010 Oct; 52(10):1014-1018
• Contact Point Address:
  Caroline K. Smith, MPH, SHARP Program, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, PO Box 44330, Olympia, WA 98504-4330
• Email:
  smcb235@LNI.wa.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20060929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:969ed10d096c8a672d262e740cad77fcbb4507f1e6193e0035ad689bdea749b5648da7cbba8ea3e712aa641a37cffd1ba99a47f9f85c5c2f854163d1858b62cf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192049/cdc_192049_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 151.04 KB ]