Cotton Adele, Schonstein Eva, Adams Roger
The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia.
Work. 2006;26(3):287-95.
Returning the disabled worker to maximum productivity is a shared responsibility between the treating health practitioners and employers, with the insurer as an overseer of the injury management plan. Allied health professionals have responded to the need for standardized tools to assess work capacity by developing Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs). Literature exists outlining the limitations of FCEs in injury management systems; however, little is known about their uses and perceived usefulness. Questionnaires were posted to managers and therapists of accredited rehabilitation providers. The questionnaires consisted of both open and closed format questions. The response rate for the managers' questionnaire was 53%, while the therapists' questionnaire was 27%. The majority of rehabilitation providers use an assessment of their Own Design. Eight commercial FCEs were identified as being used. The majority of therapists use only one type of FCE. Therapists rated FCEs highly on their flexibility with Own Design assessment rated as significantly more flexible than the most frequently used commercial FCEs. From the data collected, it appears that cost is the main factor influencing choice of assessment. Level of evidence supporting capabilities of particular assessments does not appear to influence use. It seems that, despite there being poor research evidence to support the use of many brands of FCEs, they are still commonly used by rehabilitation providers. To achieve optimal use of FCEs, further research is required on the types of adaptations therapists make to commercial assessments and properties of Own Design assessments, including reliability and validity studies.
使残疾工人恢复到最高生产力水平是治疗健康从业者和雇主的共同责任，保险公司作为工伤管理计划的监督者。专职医疗专业人员通过开发功能能力评估（FCE）来回应评估工作能力的标准化工具的需求。有文献概述了FCE在工伤管理系统中的局限性；然而，对于它们的用途和感知有用性却知之甚少。问卷被寄给了经认可的康复服务提供商的经理和治疗师。问卷包括开放式和封闭式问题。经理问卷的回复率为53%，而治疗师问卷的回复率为27%。大多数康复服务提供商使用自行设计的评估方法。确定有八种商业FCE被使用。大多数治疗师只使用一种类型的FCE。治疗师对FCE的灵活性评价很高，认为自行设计的评估比最常用的商业FCE灵活得多。从收集到的数据来看，成本似乎是影响评估选择的主要因素。支持特定评估能力的证据水平似乎并未影响其使用。尽管几乎没有研究证据支持许多品牌的FCE的使用，但它们仍被康复服务提供商普遍使用。为了实现FCE的最佳使用，需要对治疗师对商业评估所做的调整类型以及自行设计评估的特性，包括可靠性和有效性研究，进行进一步研究。
