Functional measures developed for clinical populations identified impairment among active workers with upper extremity disorders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buckner-Petty S ; Dale, Ann M. ; Evanoff B ; Gardner BT ; Kaskutas V ; Rachford R ; Strickland J
• Description:
  Purpose: Few studies have explored measures of function across a range of health outcomes in a general working population. Using four upper extremity (UE) case definitions from the scientific literature, we described the performance of functional measures of work, activities of daily living, and overall health. Methods: A sample of 573 workers completed several functional measures: modified recall versions of the QuickDASH, Levine Functional Status Scale (FSS), DASH Work module (DASH-W), and standard SF-8 physical component score. We determined case status based on four UE case definitions: (1) UE symptoms, (2) UE musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), (3) carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and (4) work limitations due to UE symptoms. We calculated effect sizes for each case definition to show the magnitude of the differences that were detected between cases and non-cases for each case definition on each functional measure. Sensitivity and specificity analyses showed how well each measure identified functional impairments across the UE case definitions. Results: All measures discriminated between cases and non-cases for each case definition with the largest effect sizes for CTS and work limitations, particularly for the modified FSS and DASH-W measures. Specificity was high and sensitivity was low for outcomes of UE symptoms and UE MSD in all measures. Sensitivity was high for CTS and work limitations. Conclusions: Functional measures developed specifically for use in clinical, treatment-seeking populations may identify mild levels of impairment in relatively healthy, active working populations, but measures performed better among workers with CTS or those reporting limitations at work. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cumulative Trauma Disorders Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Analytical-models Author Keywords: Case Definitions Carpal-tunnel-syndrome Clinical-symptoms Cumulative-trauma Extremities Functional Measures Health Outcomes Humans Injuries Models Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational Injuries Performance-capability Physical-capacity Physiological-measurements Repetitive-work Work Work-performance Worker-health Workers

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• ISSN:
  1053-0487
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  84-94
• Volume:
  26
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046785
• Citation:
  J Occup Rehabil 2016 Mar; 26(1):84-94
• Contact Point Address:
  Ann Marie Dale, Division of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8005, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
• Email:
  adale@dom.wustl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington University - St. Louis, Missouri
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040601
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
• End Date:
  20151231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f43cc7b33e7b3d65c545a144314e001b748252aff8ae89038ab521faf91edb147f5a8707fda88c737e8b1edc35a7772a609ba589771026fe2f5bb674ec7a60c2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202103/cdc_202103_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 437.30 KB ]