Background As work and health are closely interlinked, it is important to carefully monitor employees. However, limited resources restrict in-depth follow-up. Aims This study was aimed to develop a low-cost screening instrument for employees’ overall health status, that can be used across industries and that allows triaging workers to in-depth health surveillance in case of indications of health or functioning problems. Methods We developed a new questionnaire-based algorithm built on multiple predictors to assess the need for further follow-up. We used a systematic review, Delphi panel (n = 9) and focus group (n = 5) to determine the predictors, tested for language pitfalls in a pilot study and evaluated the questionnaire’s validity in two separate studies. Study 1 (n = 60) analysed the discriminatory power of the instrument by comparing it to the assessment of an occupational physician in a sample of employees from diverse occupational settings. Study 2 (n = 869) appraised the factor structure and internal consistency of the screening tool in a sample of employees from the hospital sector. Results Risk factors, current physical and mental health, functioning, absenteeism, job satisfaction and lifestyle were identified as the most relevant predictors. Study 1 showed the survey had good criterion validity (area under the curve = 0.72). Study 2 (N = 869, 28% response) demonstrated the internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.94), and a factor analysis confirmed a second-order factor structure with adequate model fit (comparative fit index = 0.96, root mean square error of approximation = 0.04 and standardized root mean square residual = 0.07). Conclusions This questionnaire can be used to triage workers for occupational health follow-up and can, additionally, be useful to describe the epidemiology of work-related illness.

中文翻译：

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职业健康分类工具的开发和验证

背景 由于工作与健康密切相关，因此仔细监控员工非常重要。然而，有限的资源限制了深入的跟进。目的 本研究旨在开发一种用于员工整体健康状况的低成本筛查工具，该工具可跨行业使用，并允许对员工进行分类，以在出现健康或功能问题迹象的情况下进行深入的健康监测。方法 我们开发了一种新的基于问卷的算法，该算法基于多个预测变量来评估进一步随访的需要。我们使用系统评价、Delphi 小组 (n = 9) 和焦点小组 (n = 5) 来确定预测因子，在试点研究中测试语言陷阱，并在两项独立研究中评估问卷的有效性。研究 1 (n = 60) 通过将其与职业医生对来自不同职业环境的雇员样本中的评估进行比较，分析了该工具的辨别力。研究 2 (n = 869) 在来自医院部门的员工样本中评估了筛选工具的因素结构和内部一致性。结果 风险因素、当前身心健康、功能、缺勤、工作满意度和生活方式被确定为最相关的预测因素。研究 1 表明该调查具有良好的标准效度（曲线下面积 = 0.72）。研究 2（N = 869，响应率为 28%）证明了内部一致性（Cronbach's α = 0.94），并且因子分析证实了具有充分模型拟合的二阶因子结构（比较拟合指数 = 0.96，近似的均方根误差= 0。04 和标准化均方根残差 = 0.07）。结论 该问卷可用于对工人进行职业健康随访分类，此外，还可用于描述工作相关疾病的流行病学。