PEFA

• PEFA

  Pre-employment assessment to determine the risk of injury of the candidate and their ability to meet inherent functional requirements of the role
• In 2012-23, the professions of Managers and Professionals had the most costly cases on average
• Labourers have more cases of injury, yet have a lesser cost
• Safety measures


  • Should always be specific to the requirement of the testing
• Subjective history


  • BP and HR reading
  • Intrinsic factors that contribute to injury
  • Age
  • Concentration levels
  • Smoking status
  • Frequency of exercise
  • Personality (e.g. more risk-taking behaviours)
• Assessment Design


  • Pre-existing or risk of injury - focus more on symptoms
  • Reduced ROM
  • Reduced strength
  • Pain - difficult to assess objectively (increased HR, facial grimace, compensatory movement patterns)
• Physical requirements of role testing

  • Drug, alcohol and audiometry testing (possibly vision)
• Prior preparation


  Knowledge of job role - i.e. physical demands, rates of injury, common causes of injury
• Rosenblum k. study showed that non-screened applicants were 2.5x likely to experience a musculoskeletal related over-exertion injury than screened applicants
• Appropriate medical history questionnaire

  • May not always be truthful - observe for objective measures
• Workers who reported an injury also were absent for an extra 10 days in a year + require restricted work
• Consent from participant

  For information to be provided to prospective employer + understanding details of test
• Contraindications to testing


  • Cardiovascular
  • Influence of drugs and alcohol
• Interpreting and Reporting Results

  CAN'T make any diagnosis on previous injury - instead monitor and report symptoms (e.g. decreased ROM and/or strength - compare bilaterally instead against norms)
• Reporting structure

  • Executive Summary (including injury risk category)
  • Subjective history
  • Details of individual test components
  • Overall injury risk and basis of opinion (including references)
  • Further recommendations (i.e. exercise or task modification options to reduce injury risk)
• Pricing is not standardised - depends on the company
• Pricing


  • Consider the value of information provided, not just time spent
  • May range from $200 to $600, depending on extent of evaluation