The psychometric properties of the German version of the new Worker Role Interview (WRI-G 10.0) in people with musculoskeletal disorders
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Occupational therapists play an important role in work rehabilitation in getting people with chronic disabilities back to work. The Worker Role Interview (WRI) is intended to detect psychosocial and environmental factors influencing the ability to return to work for injured or disabled workers. This study examined the psychometric properties of the recently modified German version (WRI-G, 10.0) in a population with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in Switzerland. METHODS: Data were gathered from 20 participants with work-related MSD. The interviews were conducted face-to-face and videotaped. Five occupational therapists, trained in the use of the WRI-G, independently rated all 20 interview recordings following the official manual. Thus, 100 ratings were analysed by use of Rasch analysis to test construct validity and transform ordinal raw data into linear data (person locations) for interrater-reliability calculations. RESULTS: All items fit the Rasch model, except the item 'perception of boss'. The final WRI-G, consisting of 15~items, showed good overall model fit (X2 = 54.66, p = 0.04); excellent person-separation reliability (PSI 0.91) and high inter-rater reliability (mean ICC 0.90). CONCLUSIONS: Based on this sample, the WRI-G (10.0) is a valid and reliable instrument to assess psychosocial ability for return to work in a population with work-related MSD.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The reliability and validity of the WRI has been established internationally and across populations, including SMI.
“The reliability and validity of the WRI has been established internationally and across populations, including SMI [47–50].”
From An enhanced individual placement and support (iPS) intervention based on the model of human occupation (MOHO); a prospective cohort study (2020) · cites this paper as [49]
Cites
Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability.
Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.2.420 · Cited by 23,433 · see citing works
Nursing Research: Principles and Methods
McFarland, G. K., Polit, D. F., & Hungler, B. P. (1987) · AJN American Journal of Nursing · doi:10.2307/3425916 · Cited by 6,942 · see citing works
Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests
Psychology, M. (1961) · Information and Control · doi:10.1016/s0019-9958(61)80061-2 · Cited by 6,936 · see citing works
Applying the Rasch Model: Fundamental Measurement in the Human Sciences
Bond, T. G., & Fox, C. M. (2003) · Journal of Educational Measurement · doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.2003.tb01103.x · Cited by 4,503 · see citing works
A review of psychological risk factors in back and neck pain
Linton, S. J. (2000) · Spine · doi:10.1097/00007632-200005010-00017 · Cited by 1,776 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Research in the last decade has shown an association between the development of chronic pain and disability and psychosocial factors [8,24]; the latter are considered to be good predictors of long-term disability including sick absence [29,31,37,40,49].”
Tennant, A., & Conaghan, P. G. (2007) · Arthritis Care & Research · doi:10.1002/art.23108 · Cited by 1,654 · see citing works
Pincus, T., Burton, A. K., Vogel, S., & Field, A. P. (2002) · Spine · doi:10.1097/00007632-200203010-00017 · Cited by 1,633 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Research in the last decade has shown an association between the development of chronic pain and disability and psychosocial factors [8,24]; the latter are considered to be good predictors of long-term disability including sick absence [29,31,37,40,49].”
Foundations of Clinical Research
Portney, L. G., & Watkins, M. P. (1993) · Cited by 981 · see citing works
Sample size and item calibration stability
Linacre, J. M. (1994) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 888 · see citing works
(2005) · DigitalCommons (California Polytechnic State University) · Cited by 797 · see citing works
Observations are always ordinal; measurements, however, must be interval.
Wright, B., & Linacre, J. M. (1989) · PubMed · Cited by 676 · see citing works
Bongers, P. M., IJmker, S., van den Heuvel, S., & Blatter, B. M. (2006) · Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation · doi:10.1007/s10926-006-9044-1 · Cited by 473 · see citing works
MEASURING BEHAVIOURS AND PERCEPTIONS: RASCH ANALYSIS AS A TOOL FOR REHABILITATION RESEARCH
Tesio, L. (2003) · Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine · doi:10.1080/16501970310010448 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Schultz, Z. I., Crook, J., Meloche, R. G., Berkowitz, J., MILNER, R. A., Zuberbier, A. O., & Meloche, W. (2003) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2003.09.019 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
The economic cost of musculoskeletal disorders in Canada
Coyte, P. C., Asche, C. V., Croxford, R., & Chan, B. (1998) · Arthritis & Rheumatism · doi:10.1002/art.1790110503 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Different risk factors for musculoskeletal complaints and musculoskeletal sickness absence
IJzelenberg, W., Molenaar, D., & Burdorf, A. (2004) · Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health · doi:10.5271/sjweh.765 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
The probability of recovery and return to work from work disability as a function of time
Crook, J., & Moldofsky, H. (1994) · Quality of Life Research · doi:10.1007/bf00433383 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Who is at risk for long-term sickness absence? A prospective cohort study of Danish employees
Lund, T., Labriola, M., & Villadsen, E. (2007) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-2007-00612 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Outcomes of a Vocational Program for Persons With AIDS
Kielhofner, G., Braveman, B. H., Finlayson, M. L., Paul‐Ward, A., Goldbaum, L., & Goldstein, K. (2004) · American Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.5014/ajot.58.1.64 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Ekbladh, E., Haglund, L., & Thorell, L. (2004) · Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation · doi:10.1023/b:joor.0000018329.79751.09 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Multilevel Analysis of Workplace and Individual Risk Factors for Long-Term Sickness Absence
Labriola, M., Christensen, K. B., Lund, T., Nielsen, M. L., & Diderichsen, F. (2006) · Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.jom.0000229783.04721.d2 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Worker Role Interview: Toward Validation of a Psychosocial Work-Related Measure
Velozo, C. A., Kielhofner, G., Gern, A., Lin, F.-L., Azhar, F., Lai, J., & Fisher, G. S. (1999) · Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation · doi:10.1023/a:1021397600383 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Predictive tests for non-return to work in patients with chronic low back pain
Kool, J., Oesch, P. R., & de Bie, R. (2001) · European Spine Journal · doi:10.1007/s005860100335 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Psychometric properties of the Worker Role Interview
Forsyth, K., Braveman, B. H., Kielhofner, G., Ekbladh, E., Haglund, L., Fenger, K., & Keller, J. (2006) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-2006-00574 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
The effectiveness of conservative treatment of acute and chronic low back pain
van Tulder, M. W., Koes, B. W., Assendelft, W. J., & Bouter, L. M. (1999) · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Psychometric properties of the work environment impact scale: a cross-cultural study
Kielhofner, G., Lai, J. S., Olson, L. M., Haglund, L., Ekbladh, E., & Hedlund, M. (1999) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-1999-00008 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Measurement precision of the clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS): a RASCH model analysis.
Betemps, E. J., Smith, R. M., Baker, D. G., & Rounds-Kugler, B. A. (2003) · PubMed · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Validity of the Swedish Version of the Worker Role Interview
Haglund, L., Karlsson, G., Kielhofner, G., & Lai, J. S. (1997) · Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.3109/11038129709035718 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Administration and application of the Worker Role Interview: looking beyond functional capacity
Fisher, G. S. (1999) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-1999-00004 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Reliability of the Worker Role Interview
Biernacki, S. D. (1993) · American Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.5014/ajot.47.9.797 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
The importance of volitional narrative in treatment: An ethnographic case study in a work progran
Barrett, L., Beer, D. W., & Kielhofner, G. (1999) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-1999-00009 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Construct validity of a work environment impact scale
Corner, R. A., Kielhofner, G., & Lin, F.-L. (1997) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-1997-9104 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Worker Role Interview: Testing the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version
Fenger, K., & Kramer, J. M. (2007) · Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1080/11038120601040743 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
The model of human occupation: a return to work case study
Baron, K. B., & Littleton, M. J. (1999) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-1999-00005 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Feasibility and results of a randomised pilot-study of a work rehabilitation programme
Meyer, K., Fransen, J., Huwiler, H., Uebelhart, D., & Klipstein, A. (2005) · Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation · doi:10.3233/bmr-2005-183-403 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationApplying the model of human occupation in work-focused rehabilitation: a case illustration
Mentrup, C., Niehaus, A., & Kielhofner, G. (1999) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-1999-00007 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Rehabilitation of older injured workers
Thomas, S. A., Browning, C. J., & Greenwood, K. M. (1994) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.3109/09638289409166292 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 38 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Prior, S., Maciver, D., Aas, R. W., Kirsh, B., Lexen, A., van Niekerk, L., Irvine Fitzpatrick, L., & Forsyth, K. (2020) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02745-3 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Clinical utility of the worker role interview: a survey study among Swedish users
Yngve, M., & Ekbladh, E. (2015) · Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.3109/11038128.2015.1007161 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Tools for Assessing Work Disability
Durand, M., & Hong, Q. N. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6214-9_15 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Psychometric evaluation of the Finnish version of the Worker Role interview (WRI-FI)
Yngve, M., Nyman, J., Pihlava, J., Sandqvist, J. L., & Ekbladh, E. (2023) · Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1080/11038128.2023.2221999 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ullah, M. M., Fossey, E. M., & Stuckey, R. (2026) · Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation · doi:10.1177/10522263261467035
Psychometric validation of the Turkish worker role interview in workers with chronic low back pain
Demir, Z., & Aran, O. T. (2026) · Work · doi:10.1177/10519815261467370
- Authors
- Köller, B., Niedermann, K., Klipstein, A., & Haugboelle, J.
- Affiliations
- Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Health Professions, Institute for Occupational Therapy, Switzerland
- University Hospital Zurich (CH)
- University College Absalon (DK)
- ORCID
- Niedermann, K.
- Venue
- Work
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 401-410
- ISSN
- 1051-9815 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1476448533
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 0.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- Work (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften digital collection (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Universität Zürich
- Universitätsspital Zürich
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Medical Practices and Rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Therapy Practice and Research
- Keywords
- work-related musculoskeletal disorders, return to work, psychosocial factors, occupational therapy, German adaptation, construct validity, inter-rater reliability, Rasch analysis, person separation reliability, vocational rehabilitation
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Middle Aged, Musculoskeletal Diseases, Occupational Diseases, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Switzerland, Work Capacity Evaluation, Reproducibility of Results
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review