Construction of a Musculoskeletal Discomfort Scale for the Lower Limbs of Workers: An Analysis Using the Multigroup Item Response Theory

Abstract

Musculoskeletal symptoms are a major occupational health problem in workers, and these can affect all professional occupations. Previous studies have proposed metrics capable of evaluating the musculoskeletal discomfort experienced by workers. However, no study has developed a metric that considers professional groups. Thus, this study aimed to develop a scale for musculoskeletal discomfort in the lower limbs to compare self-reported symptoms among education, health, and industry professionals. The sample included 159 teachers, 167 health professionals, and 401 industrial operators who relayed their symptoms using a diagram of the hips, thighs, knees, lower legs, and feet. Factor and multigroup item response theory analyses were used to construct a musculoskeletal discomfort scale consisting of seven levels and to assess and compare the identified symptoms. The results showed that the progressive evolution of discomfort differed for each profession, demonstrating that each context and work environment affects workers differently, which may explain the different patterns of symptom responses among professional groups.

The Ergonomic Behaviors Evaluation Tool (EBET) based on social cognitive theory for the assembly line workers: development and psychometric assessment

“…While research has emphasized the importance of assessing the discriminatory power and difficulty level of assessment tools [ 50 ], this specific aspect was not addressed in the present psychometric study. It is advisable for future investigations to incorporate the evaluation of these indices.…”

Item response theory-based validation of a quality of digital marketing actions on Instagram business accounts measurement instrument

“…The highlight is related to items Q4 (feed update) and Q18 (interaction with followers in the form of likes and comments), as they were the most di cult attributes for the accounts evaluated to meet. The IRT scales are cumulative (Silva et al, 2023;Barbosa et al, 2024). Therefore, to meet the attributes of items Q4 and Q18, the accounts tend to meet the other criteria described in the Instrument's items.…”

“…The response categories (𝑘) are represented by 𝑘 = 1 para for "Total absence of the attribute", 𝑘 = 2 for "Partial absence of the attribute", 𝑘 = 3 for "Partial presence of the attribute" and 𝑘 = 4 for "Presence total of the attribute". when its accumulated probability was greater than 50% (Silva et al, 2023).…”

Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Reliability, and Validity of the Greek Version of the Fremantle Shoulder Awareness Questionnaire (FreSHAQ-GR) in Patients with Chronic Shoulder Pain

“…These treatment approaches may require an assessment of their effectiveness not only on pain control and functional improvement but also on body awareness improvement, as this latter component may prove to have an important mediation effect in the rehabilitation process [ 13 ]. Furthermore, a potential avenue for future research is validating the FreSHAQ using methods grounded in item response theory, where response patterns are analyzed instead of item summation [ 53 ]. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis [ 49 ] should be an area of future investigation for the FreSHAQ-GR.…”