Why and how to screen injured workers? The Work and Health Questionnaire (WHQ): A Screening Tool for Identifying Injured Workers at Risk for a Complicated Rehabilitation

Accidental injuries occur frequently, and most accident victims recover quickly. However, a significant fraction of these individuals show a complicated recovery process and accounts for the majority of disability costs. Therefore, early identification of vulnerable persons may be beneficial for compensation schemes, government bodies, as well as for the affected workers themselves. Here we present the Work and Health Questionnaire (WHQ) as a new screening tool and results of its validation. A total of 1,963 mild to moderately injured workers answered the WHQ within three months after their accident. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed five underlying factors (Job Design, Work Support, Job Strain, Somatic Condition/Pain, and Anxiety/Worries). In evaluating the prognostic validity on the number of days of work disability, on well-being and on job satisfaction 18 months post-injury, each of these factors significantly predicted at least one of the evaluated outcomes. Thus, the WHQ shows good psychometric properties with high clinical utility for the identification of injured persons with multiple psychosocial risk factors