Improving Assessment of Work Related Mental Health Function Using the Work Disability Functional Assessment Battery (WD-FAB).
Elizabeth E Marfeo, Pengsheng Ni, Christine McDonough and 7 others
PMID 28477069WHAT IT FOUND
The expanded WD-FAB profiles work-related mental health function in four areas: cognition-communication, resilience-sociability, self-regulation, and mood.
Claimants reported lower cognition-communication and mood function than working-age adults. Use it as a self-report profile, not an eligibility test.
Key findings
01The expanded WD-FAB mental health scales yielded four domains: cognition & communication, resilience & sociability, self-regulation, and mood & emotions.
02In 1,695 SSA claimants and 2,025 working-age adults, claimant scores were on average greater than 1SD below general population scores for cognition-communication and mood & emotions.
03Short 5- and 10-item computer adaptive versions had marginal reliability greater than 0.89 and correlations greater than 0.95 with the full item bank.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is an instrument development study, not a treatment outcome study. It does not show that using the WD-FAB improves work, function, or clinical decisions. The authors did not test how stable scores are over time, how well they match other measures, or whether they predict future work outcomes. The study used SSA claimants and general population adults, so it does not test all patient groups or disability systems. The WD-FAB does not capture environmental factors or job demands, which also affect work ability. The authors did not intend the WD-FAB to determine disability eligibility or benefit level.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The article is marked as supported by NIH and U.S. government research funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use the WD-FAB to decide disability eligibility. The authors did not intend it to determine benefits, and they still need test-retest, criterion, and predictive validity research.