Transcultural validation of the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy Scale in Korean patients with work-related injuries Transcultural Validation of the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy Scale in Korean patients with work-related injuries

Abstract Background : This study aimed to develop a Korean-language version of the RTWSE-19 through a forward and backward translation process and to investigate the validity of the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy Scale specifically for Asian workers with work-related injuries. Methods : Participants were 202 injured workers who had filed a claim accepted by the workers’ compensation system following a work-related musculoskeletal injury. Among participants, 88.1% were male, 54.5% were over 45 years, 45.5% had an occupation in manufacturing, and 54.5% were craft or machine operator and assemblers. Results : Using exploratory factor analysis, three factors with 17 items were identified: (i) meeting job demands, (ii) modifying job tasks, and (iii) communicating needs to others. Removal of two item in modifying job tasks domain resulted in an increased reliability. The Korean version of the RTWSE-17 showed reasonable model fit (CFI = .963; TLI = .943; RMSEA = .068; SRMR = 0.029), satisfactory reliability (r = 0.925), no floor and ceiling effect, and construct validity. Conclusions : The scale was found to possess good psychometric properties and could address different injury types ranging from fractures to amputations involved in sub-acute and rehabilitation phases in a Korean context. The results from this study provide practitioners and researchers with insight into return to work after rehabilitation in Asian clinical and workplace setting.