Is pre-employment health screening by questionnaire effective?

Ira Madan, S. Williams

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Following a job offer, many employers require the chosen candidate to undergo health screening by questionnaire before the applicant commences work. Despite their widespread use, the effectiveness of such questionnaires remains uncertain.

    Aims: To systematically review the evidence for the effectiveness of pre-employment health questionnaires in predicting health and employment outcomes.

    Methods: We used a sensitive search strategy to search electronic databases from 1985 to September 2009. The search included dissertations for Membership of the UK Faculty of Occupational Medicine (MFOM). The authors independently selected abstracts and papers for critical appraisal and inclusion in the review using methods based on guidelines produced by the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York.

    Results: Five hundred and three abstracts were identified; nine papers and two MFOM dissertations were critically appraised. Seven papers and two MFOM dissertations were included in the final review. Six studies explored pre-employment predictors of respiratory symptoms, one explored predictors of back pain in nurses, and two dissertations explored work outcomes including sickness absence and ill-health retirement. No papers addressing mental health outcomes met our inclusion criteria. Included studies either failed to identify pre-employment predictors of health and work outcomes or found very weak predictors.

    Conclusions: Pre-employment health screening (PEHS) by questionnaire has a low predictive value in detecting future adverse health and occupational outcomes. Where PEHS takes place, the health standards required and criteria for rejection of applicants should be based on a full risk assessment of the prospective post.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)112-116
    Number of pages5
    JournalOccupational Medicine
    Volume62
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012

    Keywords

    • Clinical effectiveness
    • occupational health
    • pre-employment health screening
    • OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA
    • RISK
    • ASSESSMENTS

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