AOCOPM 2023 Midyear Educational Conference-259668

259668 - Article 17

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The AOCOPM 2023 Midyear Educational Conference addressed Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE), focusing on their role in assessing an individual's ability to participate in work activities. FCEs evaluate a person's capacity by considering their body functions, structures, environmental factors, personal factors, and overall health. There are two main types of FCEs: job-specific and general-purpose. Job-specific FCEs are tailored to assess the ability to meet the physical demands of a specific job, while general-purpose FCEs evaluate broader job or occupational capacities.<br /><br />The conference highlighted the importance of both validity and reliability in FCEs. Validity ensures the FCE measures what it is intended to, whereas reliability refers to the consistency of the results. The concept of work ability, a crucial aspect of FCEs, involves more than just health and functional capacity; it also includes professional knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and motivation.<br /><br />Recent studies reveal that incorporating FCEs into clinical evaluations often alters physicians' judgments regarding patients' physical work capabilities. FCEs are essential for determining work ability, work restrictions, impairment, disability status, and readiness to return to work. The key components of an FCE include an in-depth interview, musculoskeletal and postural assessments, task simulations, and various physical assessments.<br /><br />Specialized FCEs are also used for conditions like Long COVID, cognitive impairments, traumatic brain injuries, and oculomotor issues. The conference underscored the importance of adopting a biopsychosocial approach to comprehensively assess physical and behavioral functions for effective work ability determinations. Overall, FCEs provide valuable insights that can significantly influence clinical evaluations and decisions related to work-related health assessments.

Keywords

Functional Capacity Evaluations

work ability

job-specific FCEs

general-purpose FCEs

validity

reliability

biopsychosocial approach

clinical evaluations

work-related health assessments

Long COVID