Test–Retest Reliability, Clinical Usefulness, and Telephone Application of the Work Limitation Questionnaire in Individuals Who Returned to Work After Stroke

To measure the test–retest reliability and the clinical usefulness of the Work Limitation Questionnaire, and to compare the in-person with the telephone application.

Cross-sectional, exploratory study. The Work Limitation Questionnaire was answered three times: twice in person, to measure test–retest reliability and clinical usefulness, and once, by telephone, to measure the validity of the telephone application.

Fifty-six individuals (32 men) with mild to moderate disabilities after stroke were included. Test–retest reliability was very high (ICC 0.96; 95% CI 0.94 to 0.98; p < 0.01), the clinical usefulness was high (9 out of 12 points), and the correlation between in-person and telephone applications was high (ρ = 0.7; 95% CI 0.5 to 0.9; p < 0.01). The average productivity loss was 4% (SD 5, min–max 0 to 15%).

The Work Limitation Questionnaire showed adequate test–retest reliability and clinical usefulness in individuals with stroke. The telephone application produced comparable results to in-person applications. The participants reported low productivity loss, which may be related to the mild impairments of the included sample.