Work-readiness self report lift capacity test short form.

Background: The Multidimensional Task Ability Profile (MTAP) is a measure of self reported physical work capacity developed for injured workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to determine readiness to return to work.

Objective: This study compared the concurrent validity of a new short form MTAP (MTAP-SF) comprised of 16 lifting and/or carrying items with the MTAP 55-item version. The hypothesis addressed is whether the validity of a version that imposes less respondent burden (MTAP-SF) would be comparable to the more burdensome instrument (MTAP-55).

Methods: MTAP scores were compared with demonstrated lift capacity in 1,252 healthy adults. Parallel regression analyses were conducted to examine the explanatory power of both MTAP versions.

Results: Age, gender, body mass and MTAP-SF explained 55% of the variance (p < 0.001) in demonstrated lift capacity, equivalent to MTAP-55.

Conclusions: Self reported performance in physical work capacity tasks accounts for significant variance in lifting performance. MTAP-SF diminishes respondent burden while maintaining validity and may be useful for managing MSDs by enhancing understanding of the evaluee's psychophysical component in return-to-work rehabilitation planning.