Affiliations: Department of Social and Welfare Studies, Faculty of
Health Sciences, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden | Department of Occupational Therapy,
College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Elin Ekbladh, Department of Social and
Welfare Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, SE-601
74, Norrköping, Sweden. Tel.: +46 11 36 31 82; Fax: +46 11 36 31 89;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: 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.
Keywords: Vocational rehabilitation, assessment, model of human occupation (MOHO), occupational therapy
