Validity of Upper Limb Risk Assessment Method for Assessing Work-Related Upper Limb Disorders at Workplace

Abstract

This paper examines the construct validity of the newly developed observational tool called Upper Limb Risk Assessment (UPLIRA) tool for assessing work-related upper limb disorders (WULDs). Hence, this study aims to establish the validity of the UPLIRA tool. The construct validity for the UPLIRA method was verified using the known-groups technique by comparing two different groups of office workers (n = 70) and cashiers’ workers (n = 56). The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the socio-demographic characteristics of these two groups and to evaluate the validity by comparing the questionnaire answers from the respondents. The construct validity shows that statistically significant for the 69% items of UPLIRA (p < 0.05). It shows that the UPLIRA assessment provided a good indication of work-related upper limb disorders (WULDs) which might be reported as pain, or discomfort in the upper body region. These results support that UPLIRA tool is valid instrument to measure exposure risk factors of the WULDs in industrial settings and epidemiological studies.