Online Assessment of Patients’ Work Disability Representations to Promote Evidence Based Practice in Rehabilitation Setting

The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire adapted for Work Disability (IPQR-WD) is an adaptation of Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised: the most used and most comprehensive tool for measuring illness perceptions. Evaluating representations is crucial, since it is a main determinant of return to work in cases of persistent pain due to musculoskeletal disorders. This study aim at facilitating systematic assessment of work disability representations by assessing the usability of the Web platform and the usefulness of automatic interpretation of the results. An exploratory and descriptive study was conducted. Web designers and researchers followed the principles of web surveys of Dillman and colleagues (2000). A convenience sample of individuals absent from work due to musculoskeletal pain (n = 16) and their rehabilitation professional (n = 8) were recruited. The socio-demographic profile of the participants, the friendliness of the platform and the usefulness of the interpretation of IPQR-WD (professionals only) were documented by pretested Web-based questionnaires. A total of 16 patients (5 men, 11 women; age ranges 22–62 years, variety of levels of education and familiarity with computers) were interviewed. Descriptive analyzes show that over 75% of patients (n = 12) perceive the site attractive, airy, pleasant to navigate, organized, easy to complete and having an appropriate download speed. For professionals, all (n = 8) indicated that the site is very user friendly. One professional said the site is moderately attractive. Seven professional indicated that the interpretation provided automatically is relevant, useful, related to their needs, easy to use and understand and they intend to use in their practice. The web used of the IPQR-WD is considered friendly and relevant by clients and rehabilitation professionals. The free automatic interpretation of results appears important to promote the use of the questionnaire in clinical setting, acting on the main barrier to the use of this new knowledge: lack of time.