DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m905qfv86
title: The abilitator summary scale items and summary scores

description: Objectives According to the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of
 health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) panel, structural validity
 describes how well Patient-Reported Outcome Measures’ (PROM) scores
 reflect the dimensions of the measured construct. Reaching structural
 validity is important for PROMs that reflect unidimensional effect
 indicators, but not for formative PROMs in which the items are not
 necessarily correlated. The main purpose of this study was to examine the
 structural components of the Abilitator, a co-developed self-report
 questionnaire on work ability and functioning for the population in a weak
 labour market position. Methods We examined to what extent the Abilitator
 has reflective and formative elements in its five summary scales: “C.
 Inclusion”, “D. Mind”, “E. Everyday life”, “F. Skills”, and “G. Body”. The
 Abilitator data sample (n=4555, men 51%, mean age 37 years) was collected
 in 2017–2022 by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in
 cooperation with the European Social Fund Priority 5 projects in which the
 participants have multiple challenges to gain employment. For the
 structural components and validity analysis we implemented both
 Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).
 Results Based on the COSMIN criteria for structural validity, the
 Abilitator reached approximate model fit with CFA when we analysed the
 different concepts of the questionnaire separately rather than in one
 unified model. An exception was “E. Everyday life” which was a formative
 summary scale, and it did not reach approximate fit. EFA showed that the
 items in the Abilitator’s summary scales loaded on ten factors.
 Conclusions The Abilitator had both reflective and formative elements in
 its structure. It reached structural validity in those separate concepts
 that were based on a reflective model. This study revealed interesting
 connections between different aspects of the Abilitator and produced
 valuable information for further  modification of the
 questionnaire.
description: The Abilitator was co-developed in 2014–2017 at the Finnish
 Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) in “The Social Inclusion and the
 Change of One’s Work Ability and Capacity” (Solmu), a national
 coordination project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) Priority 5
 programme (2014–2023). One of the main aims of the ESF Priority 5
 programme was to improve the social inclusion, work ability, and
 functioning of those in a weak labour market position. Solmu’s target was
 to jointly develop a PROM ‘Abilitator’, which would evaluate both the work
 ability and functioning of those participating in the national Priority 5
 projects and detect any changes after the projects. In addition to the ESF
 projects in Finland, the Abilitator has been used in research and in
 employment, health, and social services to support primary-level
 decision-making when large numbers of clients meet professionals with
 various occupational backgrounds. The Abilitator
 contains 84 items under nine domains (sections): “A. Personal details”,
 “B. Well-being”, “C. Inclusion”, “D. Mind”, “E. Everyday life”, “F.
 Skills”, “G. Body”, “H. Background information”, and “I. Work and the
 Future”.<sup> </sup>Each section contains 4–14 items. The
 measure of  each of the five reported sections C, D, E, F, and G is a
 summary scale, transformed into a score of 0% to 100% of the selected
 items<sup> </sup>. Qualitative data is gathered from all the
 questions in sections A, H, I, and in separate questions of C9-C13, F4,
 G2, G3, G8, G9-G12. These questions are valuable for the respondents to
 reflect on, but they also provide useful additional information on the
 respondents’ situation for the service professional. In
 this study, we examined the structural components of the summary scales
 formed from sections C, D, E, F, and G, which contain the dimensions of
 social functioning and participation, psychological functioning, managing
 in everyday life, cognitive functioning and basic skills, and physical
 functioning, respectively. The “Overall situation”<em>
 </em>score, which is the mean of the sums obtained from these five
 summary scales, was not included in the analysis. There are no limit
 values for this score and the obtained data is mainly used to monitor
 change in the respondent’s overall situation. Also, sections A, H, and I
 were excluded from the analysis since they were developed to provide
 background information and do not form a summary scale. Even though the
 Abilitator is available in 10 different languages, in this study we only
 examined the original Finnish version. The entire
 Abilitator data (n=54464) has been collected in various services and
 projects aimed mainly for the unemployed.  To ensure that the participants
 in this study were in a weak labour market position the data sample
 utilized (n=4555) was collected by FIOH in cooperation only with the
 European Social Fund Priority 5 projects in 01.10.2017–31.12.2022. Each
 project (n=150) gave written consent to FIOH to use their Abilitator data
 in an anonymous format in its research. All the Abilitator respondents in
 the data were participants in  ESF Priority 5 projects which aim to
 improve the work ability and functioning of people not in employment to
 help them proceed on employment paths and to strengthen social inclusion.
 In each project the participants took part in activities such as cooking,
 gardening, social interaction, light physical activity, and rehabilitative
 work tasks. All the respondents of the Abilitator were adults and had been
 given written information in advance about the Abilitator’s purpose, data
 security, the possible later research use of the data in anonymous format,
 and the voluntary nature of answering the questionnaire. They had also all
 consented to this by responding to the Abilitator questionnaire.  The
 respondents could choose whether to answer the questionnaire online via
 the Abilitator online service or in a paper format. In the latter case,
 the staff of each ESF project transferred the answers to the Abilitator
 online service with the permission of the respondent.
 The data does not include the variable for the identification of
 specific ESF projects, which is used for clustering the participants in
 the analyses of the study related to this data. In addition, the data does
 not include any demographics such as the participants age, sex, or
 duration of unemployment. Therefore, the analyses cannot be replicated
 identically to the original study. In questions concerning data
 availability from more information is available at: Data permits for datasets of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (ttl.fi)
description: # The Abilitator summary scale items
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m905qfv86](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m905qfv86) This data set contains variables used in the analyses of the structural validity study of the Abilitator, a self-report questionnaire on work ability and functioning aimed at the population in a weak labour market position. Information on the Abilitator can be found at: [https://www.ttl.fi/en/themes/tyohyvinvointi-ja-tyokyky/tyokyky/the-abilitator](https://www.ttl.fi/en/themes/tyohyvinvointi-ja-tyokyky/tyokyky/the-abilitator) ## Description of the Abilitator variables in this data **AID= anonymous ID-number** | C1. I get help when I need it | **1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree** | | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | C2. I am necessary to others | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C3. I am allowed to express my opinions and they are taken into account | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C4. I am appreciated | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C5. I have experienced success | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C6. I am in charge of the course of my life | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C7. I feel part of society | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C8. I am happy with my relationships | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C14. I get on well with those close to me | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C15. I find it easy to maintain my friendships | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C16. I find it easy to get to know new people | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | C17. I find it easy to socialize with people I do not know | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | D1. I‘ve been feeling optimistic about the future | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D2. I’ve been feeling useful | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D3. I’ve been feeling relaxed | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D4. I’ve been dealing with problems well | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D5. I’ve been thinking clearly | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D6. I’ve been feeling close to other people | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D7. I’ve been able to make up my own mind about things | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D8. I’ve been able to take the initiative with my personal affairs | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | D9. I’ve taken pleasure in things that are important to me | Never 1 -&gt; All the time 5 | | E1. Housework | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E2. Shopping | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E3. Using public services | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E4. Using the internet, searching for information | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E5. Taking care of personal finances | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E6. Looking after your own health and well-being | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E7. Maintaining a regular daily routine and sufficient sleep | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E8. Taking care of personal hygiene | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E9. Using health services | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E10. Getting about outside your home | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | E11. Looking after others | Unable to cope 1 -&gt; Coping well 5 | | F1. Are you normally able to concentrate on things, for example, reading a book or newspaper, listening to others, filling in forms? | Very well = 5, Well = 4, Well enough = 3, Poorly = 2, Very poorly = 1 | | F2. Are you able to take in new knowledge and learn new skills? | Very well = 5, Well = 4, Well enough = 3, Poorly = 2, Very poorly = 1 | | F3. How would you currently rate your memory? Is it: | Very good = 5, Good = 4, Satisfactory = 3, Poor = 2, Very poor = 1 | | F5. I feel positive about the future | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | F6. I have dreams and hopes for the future | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | F7. I am ready to make an effort and take action in order to make my dreams come true | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | F8. I have skills that I can use in work life | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | F9. I am able to verbally express myself in different situations | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | F10. I am able to express myself in different situations in writing | 1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree | | G1. In your opinion, is your level of physical fitness: | Good = 5, Fairly good = 4, Average = 3, Fairly poor = 2, Poor = 1 | | G4. Are you able to walk about a kilometer without having to rest? | Yes, with no difficulties = 4, Yes, but with some difficulties = 3, Yes, but it is very difficult = 2, I cannot do this at all = 1 | | G6. Can you run a reasonably short distance (about a hundred meters, 100 m)? | Yes, with no difficulties = 4, Yes, but with some difficulties = 3, Yes, but it is very difficult = 2, I cannot do this at all = 1 |