Affiliations: School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University,
Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Iréne Linddahl, M. Sc. OTR,
Lecturer in occupational therapy, School of Health Sciences, Jönköping
University, Box 1038, 551 11 Jönköping, Sweden. Tel.: +46 3615 7381; Fax:
+46 3615 7345; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: This study examined the construct validity of the newly developed
instrument A Dialogue About Ability Related To Work (DOA). DOA [18] was
developed using concepts from the Model of Human Occupation [20] as
theoretical framework. The instrument assumes the assessment of work ability by
both the client and the occupational therapist, and is followed by a dialogue
which is expected to distinguish possible goal-setting for further
rehabilitation [18,19]. Twenty-one professionals and 126 clients from
three clinics in Sweden participated in the study. All clients were involved as
outpatients in psychiatric work rehabilitation in county councils or community
services. Results of a Rasch analysis test indicated that items are well
separated and generally work together in five unidimensional continuums to
measure work ability. Twenty-nine of 34 items showed goodness-of-fit
statistics, which means acceptable infit MnSq values from ≥
0.6 to ≤ 1.4 in association with Z values from
-2 to 2. The five misfit items have to be revised. The study
has indicated that DOA is a valid instrument in psychiatric work rehabilitation
and ought to be useful in the dialogue between occupational therapists and
clients about goalsetting and treatment planning.
Keywords: work ability, assessment, psychiatric disability, occupational therapy, client dialogue, Rasch measurement model
