Abstract

RENOSTO, Alexandra; BIZ, Patrícia; HENNINGTON, Élida Azevedo  and  PATTUSSI, Marcos Pascoal. Test-retest reliability of the Work Ability Index (WAI) in metallurgy workers from Southern Brazil. Rev. bras. epidemiol. [online]. 2009, vol.12, n.2, pp. 217-225. ISSN 1415-790X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2009000200011.

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have used the Work Ability Index (WAI) to assess physical, mental and social abilities of workers. Despite its common use, there are very few reports on the psychometric properties of the index. The objective of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability of WAI. METHODS: A 4-week-interval test-retest study was carried out with 153 workers from the metal-mechanic industry in a Southern Brazilian city. Data analyses included intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), paired t-test and Kappa coefficient. RESULTS: An ICC of 0.84 (95%CI 0.78-0.88) was found for test-retest reliability of the WAI. The paired t-test did not show a significant difference between the 1st and the 2nd applications. Weighted Kappa was 0.72 (95%CI 0.56-0.87). CONCLUSION: Data analyses suggest an acceptable test-retest reliability of the WAI in the study population. New studies should be conducted to test the validity and reliability of the index.

Keywords : Workers; Metal-mechanic industry; Work Ability; Test-Retest; Reliability; Work Ability Index; WAI.