Article

PURPOSE: To develop an instrument that measures empowerment among people with a
long-term work disability. METHODS: A six-dimension empowerment model was chosen
as a theoretical framework. These dimensions are as follows: competence,
self-determination, meaning, impact, positive identity and group orientation. A
literature search was conducted to find instruments that currently are being used
to measure one or more of these constructs. Validated and applicable instruments
from this search were used in a preliminary questionnaire. A pilot test was
conducted consulting the target population and experts. On basis of changes from
this pilot, a concept questionnaire was conducted. In a field test, this
questionnaire was sent to 976 subjects who followed a vocational rehabilitation
course in the years 2001-2003. Item-total correlations and factor analyses were
performed on the collected data to reduce the number of items. Factor analysis
was performed, and internal consistency was determined to get insight into the
psychometric properties of the final questionnaire. RESULTS: From all subjects
who were approached, 385 (39%) returned usable questionnaires that could be
analysed. Item reduction by item-total correlations and factor analysis resulted
in a final questionnaire consisting of 62 items divided over the six subscales.
Internal consistency of the subscales was good: all subscales had Cronbach's
alphas between 0.80 and 0.91. Some inter-correlation existed between the
subscales competence, self-determination and impact. CONCLUSIONS: The 'VrijBaan'
questionnaire was developed to measure empowerment among people with a long-term
work disability. Although the results support the internal consistency of the
subscales, further psychometric work is needed to improve the quality of this
questionnaire.

Langue : ANGLAIS