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1. Relations between the work ability index, the core structures of work ability, and the factors that explain them: structural equation model. 1
Source publication
Results of the Health 2000 Survey Work ability is an essential prerequisite for well-being and employment. This book describes the work ability of working-aged Finns on the basis of material from the extensive Health 2000 Survey. It focuses on the multidimensionality of work ability. How are health, work, expertise, and attitudes related to perceiv...
Citations
... Long-COVID symptoms were categorized into cardiovascular and thoracic, general, respiratory s, neurological, dermatological, and psychological symptoms. 4. Work ability assessment was conducted using the Work Ability Index (WAI), which was translated into Thai by Kaewboonchu and Prakardkaew 24,25 . It consisted of 10 items and 7 dimensions. ...
Post-COVID infection have raised concerns regarding their impact on nursing personnel’s work ability. This study aimed to assess the relationship between post-COVID infection and work ability among nursing personnel. A retrospective observational study from December 2022 to January 2023 involved 609 nursing personnel with a history of COVID-19 infection at a tertiary hospital. An online questionnaire measured post-COVID infection, personal and working factors, and the Work Ability Index (WAI). Long COVID was defined as the continuation or development of new symptoms 1 month post COVID-19 infection. Of 609 personnel, 586 showed post-COVID symptoms (fatigue, cough, difficulty breathing, etc.), with 73.72% in the short COVID group and 26.28% in the long COVID group. A significant association was found between WAI and post-COVID infection (aOR: 3.64, 95% CI 1.59–8.30), with the short COVID group had a significantly higher WAI than the long COVID group (mean difference 2.25, 95% CI 1.44–3.05). The factors related to work ability in the long COVID group were chronic diseases, work limitation, low job control (P < 0.05). Post-COVID infection, especially long COVID, adversely affect nursing personnel's work ability. Enhancing job control and addressing work limitations are crucial for supporting their return to work.
... The first dimension of the WAI, or the Work Ability Score (WAS), demonstrating current working capacity compared to lifetime best, produced a similar distribution to the total score obtained from the seven indicators ( Figure 3). To interpret WAS results, the inventors of this method [18] suggested using the same type of categorization as for the WAI, i.e., poor (0-5 points), moderate (6, 7), good (8,9), excellent (10). ...
The Work Ability Index (WAI) is the most widely used questionnaire for the self-assessment of working ability. Because of its different applications, shorter versions, and widespread use in healthcare activities, assessing its characteristics is worthwhile. The WAI was distributed online among the employees of a healthcare company; the results were compared with data contained in the employees’ personal health records and with absence registers. A total of 340 out of 575 workers (59.1%) participated; 6.5% of them reported poor work ability. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the one-factor version best described the characteristics of the WAI. The scores of the complete WAI, the shorter form without the list of diseases, and the minimal one-item version (WAS) had equal distribution and were significantly correlated. The WAI score was inversely related to age and significantly lower in women than in men, but it was higher in night workers than in their day shift counterparts due to the probable effect of selective factors. The WAI score was also correlated with absenteeism, but no differences were found between males and females in the average number of absences, suggesting that cultural or emotional factors influence the self-rating of the WAI. Workers tended to over-report illnesses in the online survey compared to data collected during occupational health checks. Musculoskeletal disorders were the most frequently reported illnesses (53%). Psychiatric illnesses affected 21% of workers and had the greatest impact on work ability. Multilevel ergonomic and human factor intervention seems to be needed to recover the working capacity of healthcare workers.
... All subjects and/or their legal guardians provided written informed consent to participate in the study, and the ethical committees of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa approved the study. Exome sequencing and DNA array genotype data for population control individuals were obtained from the populationbased health examination surveys FINRISK [11] and Health2000-2011 [12] via application to THL Biobank. Individuals in the FINRISK and Health2000-2011 studies that had known learning or psychiatric disorders as given in the study variables were excluded as controls. ...
Intellectual disability (ID) is a common disorder, yet there is a wide spectrum of impairment from mild to profoundly affected individuals. Mild ID is seen as the low extreme of the general distribution of intelligence, while severe ID is often seen as a monogenic disorder caused by rare, pathogenic, highly penetrant variants. To investigate the genetic factors influencing mild and severe ID, we evaluated rare and common variation in the Northern Finland Intellectual Disability cohort ( n = 1096 ID patients), a cohort with a high percentage of mild ID ( n = 550) and from a population bottleneck enriched in rare, damaging variation. Despite this enrichment, we found only a small percentage of ID was due to recessive Finnish-enriched variants (0.5%). A larger proportion was linked to dominant variation, with a significant burden of rare, damaging variation in both mild and severe ID. This rare variant burden was enriched in more severe ID ( p = 2.4e-4), patients without a relative with ID ( p = 4.76e-4), and in those with features associated with monogenic disorders. We also found a significant burden of common variants associated with decreased cognitive function, with no difference between mild and more severe ID. When we included common and rare variants in a joint model, the rare and common variants had additive effects in both mild and severe ID. A multimodel inference approach also found that common and rare variants together best explained ID status (ΔAIC = 16.8, ΔBIC = 10.2). Overall, we report evidence for the additivity of rare and common variant burden throughout the spectrum of intellectual disability.
... The first dimension of the WAI, or work ability score (WAS), demonstrating current working capacity compared to lifetime best, produced a similar distribution to the total score obtained from the seven indicators ( Figure 4). To interpret the WAS results, the inventors of this method [14] suggested using the same type of categorization as for the WAI, i.e., poor (0-5 points), moderate (6,7), good (8,9), excellent (10). The correlation between the WAS and the WAI was highly significant (Table 3). ...
... A phenomenon observed in our sample, and expected in other healthcare companies, was the failure to find any difference between illnesses diagnosed by a doctor and self-diagnosed diseases, both of which have a significant impact on working ability. Healthcare professionals usually have 14 sufficient competence to diagnose their own pathologies without the need to turn to a physician for confirmation, however, since the instructions of the authors of the questionnaire indicate that only diagnoses made by a doctor contribute to the formation of the final score, this introduces an inherent weakness in the assessment of the work ability of healthcare workers. Based on our experience, the shortened form of the questionnaire without the list of diseases (WAInodis) could be more effective than the full questionnaire because it contains fewer errors. ...
The Work Ability Index (WAI) is the most widely used questionnaire for the self-assessment of working ability. Because of its different applications, shorter versions, and widespread use in healthcare activities, it is worthwhile assessing its characteristics. The WAI was distributed online among the workers of a healthcare company; the results were compared with data contained in the workers' personal health records and with absence registers. 340 out of 575 workers (59.1%) participated; 6.5% of them reported poor work ability. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the one-factor version best described the characteristics of the WAI. The scores of the complete WAI, the shorter form without the list of diseases, and the minimal one-item version (WAS) had equal distribution and were significantly correlated. The WAI score was inversely related to age and significantly lower in women than in men, but it was higher in night workers than in colleagues due to the probable effect of selective factors. The WAI score was also correlated with absenteeism, but no differences were found between males and females in the average number of absences, suggesting that cultural or emotional factors influence the self-rating of the WAI. Workers tended to overreport illnesses in the online survey compared to data collected during occupational health checks. Musculoskeletal disorders were the most frequently reported illnesses (53%). Psychiatric illnesses affected 21% of workers and had the greatest impact on work ability. Multilevel ergonomic and human factor intervention seems to be needed to recover the working capacity of healthcare workers.
... Work participation is closely associated with work ability [7,8]. Work ability reflects the balance between a person's resources, such as physical and mental health and functional abilities, personal competence, values and work demands [9][10][11][12]. Environmental factors also affect work ability [13], including workplace characteristics (context, tools and human relations), the social security and benefit system, and the healthcare system [10,14,15]. ...
... Assessing work ability necessitates acknowledging its multidimensional nature and diverse measurement purposes [11,15]. In a rehabilitation setting, tools for assessing work ability includes questionnaires measuring health and work variables, interview guides, and physical and cognitive evaluation tests [15]. ...
... For the logistic regression analysis, WAS was grouped into low work ability ≤ 7 and high work ability ≥ 8. This categorization combined the suggested categories of poor (0-5 points) with moderate (6-7 points), and good (8-9 points) with excellent (10 points) [11]. Main line of work was grouped into four categories: manager and professional; technician or associate professional; service, sales and care-workers, craft and related trades of workers or machine operators; work training or apprenticeship; elementary occupations; and other. ...
Background: There is limited knowledge regarding the impact of rehabilitation on work ability. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with work ability 12 months following a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program in a cohort with different diagnoses. Methods: Of 9108 potentially eligible participants for the RehabNytte research project, 3731 were eligible for the present study, and 2649 participants (mean age 48.6 years, 71% female) consented to contribute with work-related data, and were included. Self-perceived work ability was assessed by the Work Ability Score (WAS) (0–10, 10 = best), during the follow-up period using paired t-tests and logistic regression to examine associations between demographic and disease-related factors and work ability at 12-month follow-up. Results: The mean baseline WAS for the total cohort was 3.53 (SD 2.97), and increased significantly to 4.59 (SD 3.31) at 12-month follow-up. High work ability (WAS ≥ 8) at 12 months was associated with high self-perceived health at the baseline (OR 3.83, 95% CI 2.45, 5.96), while low work ability was associated with a higher number of comorbidities (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.11, 0.61), medium pain intensity (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.38, 0.83) and being married or cohabiting (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43, 0.88). There were no significant differences in work ability between participants receiving occupational and standard rehabilitation. Conclusions: Work ability increased significantly over the follow-up period. High work ability at 12-month follow-up was associated with high self-perceived health at baseline, while being married or cohabiting, having higher number of comorbidities, and experiencing medium baseline pain intensity was associated with lower work ability. Rehabilitation interventions targeting these factors may potentially enhance work ability, leading to a positive impact on work participation among people in need of rehabilitation.
... Work ability can be understood as the result of an interaction between the individual and work factors (3,4). Individuals' health, functional capacity, and the characteristics of one's work have consistently been found to be the most significant contributors to work ability (3)(4)(5). ...
... Work ability can be understood as the result of an interaction between the individual and work factors (3,4). Individuals' health, functional capacity, and the characteristics of one's work have consistently been found to be the most significant contributors to work ability (3)(4)(5). ...
... In populations of workers, the WAI has displayed acceptable to good reliability in terms of test-retest (8,11) and internal consistency (7,11,15), as well as construct validity (7,(9)(10)(11). The WAI can be seen as a unidimensional construct, albeit having different components, all of which affect work ability (3,4). However, in previous studies, different factor structures have been reported (7, 9-11, 15, 16). ...
Objective
To evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of the Work Ability Index (WAI) in patients with chronic pain in secondary and tertiary care.
Methods
Cross-sectional study based on 200 patients with chronic pain (> 3 months), with a final sample of 118 participants, 18–64-years-old. Construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis for the structural validity of the WAI, and by correlating the WAI with EuroQol EQ-5D, Brief Pain Inventory pain severity and interference, Patient Health Questionnaire and Generalized Anxiety Disorder scales. The study also assessed the discriminant validity of the WAI for occupational status, and the validity of the single-item work ability score. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency.
Results
A single-factor model of WAI was supported. Internal consistency was good. Moderate correlations were found, except for Brief Pain Inventory pain severity, where the correlation was weak; hence, both convergent and divergent validity of the WAI were supported. The work ability score correlated strongly with the total WAI, and the discriminant validity for both was good.
Conclusion
In patients with chronic pain in specialized care, the WAI and the work ability score displayed acceptable construct validity and internal consistency, supporting their use in a clinical context and research.
LAY ABSTRACT
Chronic pain may result in sick leave and work limitations. Assessment of work ability can be important for screening of needs and follow-up over time. Therefore, work ability among individuals with chronic pain should be assessed using valid measures. This study evaluated the measurement properties of the Work Ability Index among patients with chronic pain referred to a pain clinic. Analyses were performed to evaluate the degree to which the Work Ability Index measures work ability in a valid way, including aspects of construct validity and the interrelatedness among the items. The results of this study demonstrate acceptable measurement properties of the Work Ability Index among patients with chronic pain in specialized care; hence, the Work Ability Index could be used in pain care and research. In addition, the single-item work ability score included in the Work Ability Index was highly correlated with the total score and could be used as an alternative.
... Work ability is defined as the physical, mental, and functional capacity of workers in their current jobs, considering opportunities, challenges, and demands of the job with available resources [1]. It is a balance between an individual life and work life. ...
... It is a balance between an individual life and work life. The balance includes maintaining health, work ability, occupational well-being as well as coping at work [1]. Work ability is an essential social issue, because it affects the health and well-being of individuals [2]. ...
... Additionally, in Brazil, the organizational structure and administrative of the hospital may be favorable for nurses, which increased their level of work ability. In fact, the work ability of employees is influenced by demands of jobs, work communities, organizations, and overall work cultures [1]. ...
Abstract Background Nurses with reduced work ability had a high risk of disability pension, sickness absences, retirement intention, and leave their job and profession early. Nurses frequently suffer from job related stress, occupational fatigue and sleep problems, which can further compromise their work ability. Aims of the study The aim of this study was to assess perceived work ability and its associated factors among nurses working in the Northwest of Amhara regional state Referral Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022. Methods A multicenter, an institutional based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 nurses working in five selected Referral hospitals, found in the Northwest of Amhara regional state, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022. The data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire and entered using Epi info version 7.2.5 software, analyzed using SPSS version 25. Summary statistics (median or IQR for continuous data and frequency and percentage for categorical variables) were used. The ordinal logistic regression was used to assess’ the presence of association between dependent and independent variables. Results The findings of this study revealed that 59.0% of nurses had poor level of work ability, whereas 34.4% and 6.6% of nurses had sub-optimal and optimal level of work ability respectively. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression revealed that being male [AOR = 2.43; 95% CI (1.52, 3.91)], being BSC nurse [AOR = 0.21; 95% CI (0.08, 0.51)], nurses who had poor sleep quality [AOR = 0.34; 95% CI (0.12, 0.98)] and nurses who had chronic disease [AOR = 0.18; 95% CI (0.08, 0.41)] were significantly associated with nurses’ level of work ability, p-value
... Research related to the possible impact of health on an individual's ability to work is the subject of numerous studies today, because preserving work ability has become a social interest. It is stated that the promotion of working ability results in a better health condition, which can directly affect the quality of life [3]. ...
Numerous studies have shown that city bus drivers suffer from three key categories of health disorders: cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal disorders and musculoskeletal system issues, affecting the individual’s ability to work. The aim of this research was to assess the working ability of bus drivers and to determine the connection between the level of physical activity and the work ability in professional bus drivers. The study protocol included an assessment of participants’ work ability using the Work Ability Index (WAI) Questionnaire on a sample of 115 bus drivers. A statistical analysis was performed using the SAS System software package (SAS Institute Inc., North Carolina, USA). The questionnaire for determining the work ability index indicated good or excellent work ability in 78 (67.8%) of bus drivers. Moderate work ability that needed to be improved was recorded in 27 (23.5%) of drivers, and poor work ability that needed to be restored in 10 (8.7%). The results of the regression analysis show that increasing the average number of steps per day by a 1,000 increases the WAI score by 0.8. The obtained data should serve as an important argument for the design of future public health and kinesiology interventions to improve the work ability in professional bus drivers.
... The rapidly aging population has led to growing interest in understanding how design of digital services could better support their well-being [2][3][4][5]. There is a growing need for better digital health services for older adults [3,5]; chronic diseases such as diabetes and dementia will increase in the future, while many diseases are the result of aging or unhealthy lifestyles, such as poor diet and lack of exercise [6,7]. Digitalization could provide efficient and cost-effective care for older adults [8]. ...
Digitalization could provide efficient and cost-effective health and well-being services to the rapidly aging population. However, digital services do not always meet their needs. We investigated the experiences and service needs of older employees by collecting quantitative and qualitative data through a survey (n = 497). The results suggested a negative association between user satisfaction and age during retirement transition. Peak experiences were meaningful, explaining a 26% variation in the overall evaluation of the portal. The negative peak experiences concerned poorly functioning features, and the positive ones the ability to take care of one’s health smoothly and easily. The respondents had high expectations for functionality, efficiency, and ease of use. They wanted more support for self-managing health: controlling weight, sleeping, recovery, and exercising.
... Employees were asked to estimate their workability in present work from the point of view of health after 2 years on a scale of 0 (I can't) to 10 (pretty sure). Based on the literature [12,13], as well as the distribution of the variable (top-third) in our data, a dichotomous variable was created as having assured ability (8)(9)(10) versus no assured workability (0-7). ...
Background:
Sustainable employability (SE) has become an important factor for keeping people in the labour market and enabling the extension of working life.
Aims:
We developed and validated an SE index to predict assured workability in 2 years. Additionally, we developed a scoring tool to use in practice.
Methods:
A questionnaire survey of postal employees aged ≥50 years was conducted in 2016 and followed up in 2018 (n = 1102). The data were divided into training and validation sets. The outcome was defined as whether the employees had an assured workability after 2 years or not. Multivariable log-binomial regression was used to calculate the SE index. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the discriminative power of the index.
Results:
The probability of assured workability increased with increasing quintiles of the SE index. The highest quintiles of the SE index showed the highest observed and expected assured workability in 2 years. The predictive ability, area under the curve (AUC) for training was 0.79 (95% CI 0.75-0.83) and for validation data was 0.76 (95% CI 0.73-0.80). In the scoring tool, the self-rated health, workability, job satisfaction and perceived employment had the highest contribution to the index.
Conclusions:
The SE index was able to distinguish the employees based on whether they had assured workability after 2 years. The scoring method could be used to calculate the potentiality of future employability among late midlife postal employees.
