The reliability of Turkish translation of quick exposure check (QEC) for risk assessment of work related musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract

Work Related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders (WRMSDs) are a common health problem and one of the major causes of disability. Exposure to risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders and the change in exposure can be measured by observational assessment techniques. One of the techniques is QEC ( Quick Exposure Check), which was developed by Li and Buckle in 1998. We designed this study to translate QEC to Turkish and investigation of QEC's reliability among cleaners. The study was conducted among 20 cleaners who were randomly chosen from 200 subjects working at Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty Hospital. Test-retest reliability of QEC was investigated by intraclass correlation coefficient ( ICC) and Bland Altman method. The reliability coefficients of QEC items were found between 0.589 and 1. Among those QEC items, wrist hand position, back position, using vehicle, work period, were found statistically the most reliable between measurements. The items' reliability of QEC was generally fair to good. For this reason, we suggest that, QEC would be helpful for evaluation of WRMSD risk assessment to those who work in the field of work health and safety in the industry of Turkey.