Do men and women have different musculoskeletal symptoms at the same musculoskeletal discomfort level?

Owing to biological and social factors, illness-related musculoskeletal symptoms tend to vary between men and women. However, in the past, conceptualised discomfort metrics were applied uniformly to both genders. This study aimed to develop a scale to measure musculoskeletal discomfort that compares the symptoms between men and women. The scale aimed to determine the gender-based response patterns related to symptoms. A total of 707 men and 1302 women reported their symptoms on a body map. Factor analysis and item response theory were used to differentiate the identified symptoms in the construction of a musculoskeletal discomfort scale. Differences in work exposure appeared to explain the symptom patterns between men and women. The scale had eight levels, and it was found that at the same level of discomfort, men and women reported symptoms in different body regions.Practitioner summary: On this discomfort scale, the response patterns of men and women were categorised into eight levels. Symptoms differed by gender at the same musculoskeletal discomfort level. This is in contrast to previous studies in which scales were devised without considering differences between the genders.Abbreviations: WMSDs: work-related musculoskeletal disorders; BMI: body mass index; FA: factor analysis; IRT: item response theory; KMO: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin; BST: Bartlett's test of sphericity; F: factor loading; h2: communality; α: Cronbach's alpha; ωt: McDonald's omega; ai: parameters of discrimination of the items; bik: parameters of difficulty of response categories; θj: latent trait; RMSEA: root mean square error of approximation; CFI: comparative fit index; TLI: Tucker-Lewis index; odu: musculoskeletal discomfort units; RA: rarely; OF: often; AL: always.

Evaluation of musculoskeletal discomfort using item response theory: creation of a scale based on the self-reported pain symptoms.

This study aims to build a scale for musculoskeletal discomfort based on the self-reported musculoskeletal pain by individuals. For this, methods such as factorial analysis and item response theory were used. A sample of 1821 workers of a footwear industry participated in this study. The scale consists of four levels ranging from mild to maximum discomfort. In mild discomfort (level 60), pain symptoms are rare or frequent in regions such as cervical and trapezoidal area, low back, shoulders, wrists, ankles and feet. At level 70, rare or frequent symptoms affect regions of the upper and lower limbs. At level 80, frequent symptoms become common in the trunk and in most of the upper and lower limbs. At level 90, the symptoms become daily in elbows, thighs and knees. The scale showed signs of validity and proved useful for studies in ergonomics. Practitioner Summary: Methods such as factor analysis and item response theory were used to build a four-level musculoskeletal discomfort scale that can be useful to complement the screening process for workers with musculoskeletal pain. The scale shows signs of accuracy, in addition to validity and reliability. Abbreviations: WMSD: work-related musculoskeletal disorders; CTT: classic test theory; IRT: item response theory; KMO: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin; PR: pain rarely; PO: pain often; PE: pain everyday; DIF: differential item functioning.

[Intra-family and school violence scale using the Item Response Theory]. / Escala de violência intrafamiliar e escolar usando a Teoria de Resposta ao Item.

Violence is a global public health problem and may be of a physical, sexual, or psychological nature, or due to negligence. In order to evaluate this situation, instruments are needed that can assess this widely diverse scenario. The scope of this research was to develop a scale to evaluate intra-family and school violence. In this study, the questionnaire on violence proposed by the World Health Organization and included in the Health and Nutrition Monitoring System - Nutrition of Students, was used. The questionnaire was applied to adolescents of both sexes, enrolled in public schools in the city of Piracicaba, Brazil, in 2014. The gradual response model of the Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to create the scale and analyze the questions contained in the questionnaire. The scale presented more precise information for levels of above average violence, implying greater applicability for populations at risk of intra-family and school violence. The use of the scale is proposed as a new approach to assess intra-family and school violence in future studies.

A violência é um problema de saúde pública mundial, podendo ser de ordem física, sexual, psicológica ou por negligência e, para sua avaliação, são necessários instrumentos capazes de medir toda esta diversidade. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi desenvolver uma escala para avaliar a violência intrafamiliar e escolar. Foi utilizado o questionário de violência, proposto pela Organização Mundial de Saúde e incluído no Sistema de Monitoramento da Saúde e Alimentação - Nutrição do Escolar. O questionário foi aplicado em adolescentes de ambos os sexos, matriculados em escolas públicas da cidade de Piracicaba, Brasil, em 2014. O modelo de resposta gradual da Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI) foi utilizado para criação da escala e análise das perguntas do questionário. A escala apresentou informação mais precisa para níveis de violência acima da média, sugerindo uma maior aplicabilidade para populações em risco de violência intrafamiliar e escolar. Sugere-se o uso da escala como nova abordagem para avaliar a violência intrafamiliar e escolar nos próximos estudos.

Development and validation of instrument for ergonomic evaluation of tablet arm chairs.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an evaluation instrument for tablet arm chairs based on ergonomic requirements, focused on user perceptions and using Item Response Theory (IRT). This exploratory study involved 1,633 participants (university students and professors) in four steps: a pilot study (n=26), semantic validation (n=430), content validation (n=11) and construct validation (n=1,166). Samejima's graded response model was applied to validate the instrument. The results showed that all the steps (theoretical and practical) of the instrument's development and validation processes were successful and that the group of remaining items (n=45) had a high consistency (0.95). This instrument can be used in the furniture industry by engineers and product designers and in the purchasing process of tablet arm chairs for schools, universities and auditoriums.

Escala de violência intrafamiliar e escolar usando a Teoria de Resposta ao Item / Intra-family and school violence scale using the Item Response Theory

Resumo A violência é um problema de saúde pública mundial, podendo ser de ordem física, sexual, psicológica ou por negligência e, para sua avaliação, são necessários instrumentos capazes de medir toda esta diversidade. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi desenvolver uma escala para avaliar a violência intrafamiliar e escolar. Foi utilizado o questionário de violência, proposto pela Organização Mundial de Saúde e incluído no Sistema de Monitoramento da Saúde e Alimentação - Nutrição do Escolar. O questionário foi aplicado em adolescentes de ambos os sexos, matriculados em escolas públicas da cidade de Piracicaba, Brasil, em 2014. O modelo de resposta gradual da Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI) foi utilizado para criação da escala e análise das perguntas do questionário. A escala apresentou informação mais precisa para níveis de violência acima da média, sugerindo uma maior aplicabilidade para populações em risco de violência intrafamiliar e escolar. Sugere-se o uso da escala como nova abordagem para avaliar a violência intrafamiliar e escolar nos próximos estudos.

Abstract Violence is a global public health problem and may be of a physical, sexual, or psychological nature, or due to negligence. In order to evaluate this situation, instruments are needed that can assess this widely diverse scenario. The scope of this research was to develop a scale to evaluate intra-family and school violence. In this study, the questionnaire on violence proposed by the World Health Organization and included in the Health and Nutrition Monitoring System - Nutrition of Students, was used. The questionnaire was applied to adolescents of both sexes, enrolled in public schools in the city of Piracicaba, Brazil, in 2014. The gradual response model of the Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to create the scale and analyze the questions contained in the questionnaire. The scale presented more precise information for levels of above average violence, implying greater applicability for populations at risk of intra-family and school violence. The use of the scale is proposed as a new approach to assess intra-family and school violence in future studies.

Environmental management performance for Brazilian industrials: measuring with the item response theory.

Growing challenges with respect to preserving the environment have forced changes in company operational structures. Thus, the objective of this article is to measure the evidence of Environmental Management using the Item Response Theory, based on website analysis from Brazilian industrial companies from sectors defined through the scope of the research. This is a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study related to an information collection and analysis instrument. The general view of the research problem with respect to the phenomenon under study in based on multi-case studies, with the methodological outline based on the theoretical reference used. Primary data was gathered from 270 company websites from 7 different Brazilian sectors and led to the creation of 26 items approved by environmental specialists. The results were attained with the measuring of Environmental Management evidence via the Item Response Theory, providing a clear order of the items involved based on each item's level of difficulty, quality, and propriety. This permitted the measurement of each item's quality and propriety, as well as that of the respondents, placing them on the same analysis scale. Increasing the number of items and companies involved is suggested fEor future research in order to permit broader sector analysis.

Measuring organizational effectiveness in information and communication technology companies using item response theory.

The aim of this paper is to measure the effectiveness of the organizations Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from the point of view of the manager, using Item Response Theory (IRT). There is a need to verify the effectiveness of these organizations which are normally associated to complex, dynamic, and competitive environments. In academic literature, there is disagreement surrounding the concept of organizational effectiveness and its measurement. A construct was elaborated based on dimensions of effectiveness towards the construction of the items of the questionnaire which submitted to specialists for evaluation. It demonstrated itself to be viable in measuring organizational effectiveness of ICT companies under the point of view of a manager through using Two-Parameter Logistic Model (2PLM) of the IRT. This modeling permits us to evaluate the quality and property of each item placed within a single scale: items and respondents, which is not possible when using other similar tools.