Working Ability Index (WAI) Medical Algorithm

Ilmarinen and Tuomi used the Working Ability Index (WAI) to describe a person's ability to work.

Overview:

Ilmarinen and Tuomi used the Working Ability Index (WAI) to describe a person's ability to work.

Parameters:

(1) subjective self-assessment of current ability to work compared to lifetime best

(2) subjective estimate of work ability relative to demands of work (physical and mental)

(3) number of comorbid conditions (diagnosed diseases)

(4) subjective assessment of disease-related work impairment

(5) number of days sick in the past years

(6) self-assessment of work ability after 2 years

(7) psychological and emotional resources

Parameter	Finding	Points
current ability to work compared to lifetime best	very poor	0
	poor to very poor	1
	poor	2
	suboptimal to poor	3
	suboptimal	4
	barely acceptable	5
	fair	6
	fair to good	7
	good	8
	good to very good	9
	very good	10
work ability relative to demands	very poor	2
	poor to very poor	3
	poor	4
	suboptimal	5
	barely acceptable	6
	fair	7
	good	8
	good to very good	9
	very good	10
comorbid conditions	0 conditions	7
	1 conditions	5
	2 conditions	4
	3 conditions	3
	4 conditions	2
	5 or more conditions	1
work impairment due to disease	no impairment	6
	slightly impairment	5
	mildly impairment	4
	moderately impairment	3
	moderate to severe impairment	2
	completely impaired	1
absence due to sickness	0 days in past year	5
	1 to 9 days in past year	4
	10 to 24 days in past year	3
	25 to 99 days in past year	2
	>= 100 days in past year	1
self-assessment of work ability after 2 years	unable to work	1
	uncertain	4
	fairly certain of ability	7
psychological resources	very poor	1
	poor	2
	good	3
	very good	4

work ability index =

= SUM(points for all 7 parameters)

Interpretation:

• minium score: 7

• maximum score: 49

• The higher the index the greater the ability to work.

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Working Ability Index (WAI) of Ilmarinen and Tuomi