Work environment impact scale: testing the psychometric properties of the Swedish version.

BACKGROUND

The Work Environment Impact Scale (WEIS) is an assessment that focuses on the fit between a person and his or her work environment. It is based on Kielhofner's Model of Human Occupation and designed to gather information on how clients experience their work environment.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the WEIS assessment instrument.

METHOD

In total, 95 ratings on the 17-item WEIS were obtained from a sample of clients with experience of sick leave due to different medical conditions. Rasch analysis was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Overall, the WEIS items together cohered to form a single construct of increasingly challenging work environmental factors. The hierarchical ordering of the items along the continuum followed a logical and expected pattern, and the participants were validly measured by the scale. The three occupational therapists serving as raters validly used the scale, but demonstrated a relatively high rater separation index, indicating differences in rater severity.

CONCLUSION

The findings provide evidence that the Swedish version of the WEIS is a psychometrically sound assessment across diagnoses and occupations, which can provide valuable information about experiences of work environment challenges.