Development of Multidimensional Screening Tool for WMSDs

April 22, 2026 updated by: Kibum Jung, Sahmyook University

Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Screening Tool for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: A COSMIN-Guided Psychometric Study

The purpose of this study is to develop a multidimensional screening tool for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The study involves a cross-sectional survey of approximately 250 workers in the bio-pharmaceutical industry to assess the tool's structural validity, internal consistency, construct validity, and measurement invariance following COSMIN guidelines.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a major occupational health issue. While various screening tools exist, few comprehensively assess red flags (signs of serious pathology), yellow flags (psychosocial risk factors), and physical symptoms specifically for industrial workers. This study aims to address this gap by developing a new screening tool and validating its reliability and validity. The study design follows the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) checklist. The validation process involves a cross-sectional survey targeting 250 workers, including both office and production staff. The developed tool is designed to screen for serious medical conditions (Red flags) requiring referral, as well as to assess physical symptoms and psychosocial barriers (Yellow flags). Psychometric evaluation will specifically focus on the physical and psychosocial domains, as Red flags are typically binary screening items. Key psychometric properties to be evaluated include: 1. Structural Validity: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) will be conducted to verify the factor structure of the physical and psychosocial domains. 2. Internal Consistency: Cronbach's alpha coefficients will be calculated for these subscales. 3. Measurement Invariance: Multi-group CFA will be performed to ensure the tool functions equivalently across different job types (office vs. production). 4. Construct Validity: Correlations with established instruments (e.g., OSPRO-YF, FABQ, TSK) will be analyzed. The ultimate goal is to provide a practical and scientifically validated instrument for the early detection, triage, and management of WMSDs in workplace settings. 5. Cut-off Determination: ROC analysis will be conducted to establish optimal cut-off scores for identifying high-risk groups (Yellow flags), using established tools as a reference.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
250

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of workers currently employed at a bio-pharmaceutical company (Samsung Biologics) in South Korea. This includes both office workers engaged in VDT tasks and production workers involved in physical tasks who report musculoskeletal symptoms.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Current regular employees working at the study site.
  • Adults aged 19 years or older who understand the study purpose and procedures and voluntarily agree to participate in writing.
  • Participants capable of reading, understanding, and self-responding to the questionnaire.
  • Individuals with musculoskeletal symptoms according to NIOSH standards: symptoms lasting more than one week OR recurring at least once a month in the past 12 months (symptoms include pain, aching, stiffness, burning sensation, tingling, or numbness).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with cognitive or mental impairments that make it difficult to understand the study or complete the survey.
  • Individuals suspected of having a medical emergency or severe disease requiring immediate medical attention.
  • Individuals deemed unsuitable for participation by the researcher.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Bio-pharmaceutical Industry Workers
Workers currently employed at Samsung Biologics, including both office and production staff, who meet the inclusion criteria for musculoskeletal symptoms.
Other: Survey Administration
Participants will complete the newly developed multidimensional screening tool and standard validation questionnaires (e.g., OSPRO-YF, FABQ, TSK) to assess musculoskeletal symptoms and psychosocial factors.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Structural Validity
Time Frame: Baseline
Evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Model fit will be assessed based on stricter criteria: CFI ≥ 0.95, TLI ≥ 0.95, RMSEA ≤ 0.06, and SRMR ≤ 0.08 (Hu & Bentler, 1999). If model fit is insufficient, modification indices (MI) will be used to adjust the model within theoretically justifiable limits.
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Internal Consistency
Time Frame: Baseline
Assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficients for each factor. A value between 0.70 and 0.90 is considered to indicate appropriate internal consistency (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011).
Baseline
Measurement Invariance
Time Frame: Baseline
Evaluated using Multi-group CFA between office workers (VDT tasks) and production workers (physical tasks). Invariance is determined based on criteria such as ΔCFI ≤ 0.01 and ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.015 (Chen, 2007).
Baseline
Construct Validity
Time Frame: Baseline
Assessed by analyzing correlations (Pearson or Spearman) between the developed tool and standard instruments. A correlation coefficient (r) of ≥ 0.50 represents adequate convergent validity.
Baseline
Cut-off Determination for Yellow Flags
Time Frame: Baseline
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis will be conducted to establish optimal cut-off scores for identifying high-risk groups (Yellow flags). Established instruments (e.g., OSPRO-YF) will be used as a reference to calculate sensitivity, specificity, and the Youden index.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Sahmyook University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 22, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SYU 2025-12-018-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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