Work environment impact scale: Testing the psychometric properties of the Swedish version

BACKGROUND: The Work Environment Impact Scale (WEIS) is an assessment that focuses on the fit between a person and his or her work environment. It is based on Kielhofner's Model of Human Occupation and designed to gather information on how clients experience their work environment. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the WEIS assessment instrument. METHOD: In total, 95 ratings on the 17-item WEIS were obtained from a sample of clients with experience of sick leave due to different medical conditions. Rasch analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Overall, the WEIS items together cohered to form a single construct of increasingly challenging work environmental factors. The hierarchical ordering of the items along the continuum followed a logical and expected pattern, and the participants were validly measured by the scale. The three occupational therapists serving as raters validly used the scale, but demonstrated a relatively high rater separation index, indicating differences in rater severity. CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence that the Swedish version of the WEIS is a psychometrically sound assessment across diagnoses and occupations, which can provide valuable information about experiences of work environment challenges.