Inter-rater reliability of the `Merkmalprofile zur Eingliederung Leistungsgewandelter und Behinderter in Arbeit' (MELBA) in young disabled adults with psychosocial limitations

To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the Merkmalprofile zur Eingliederung Leistungsgewandelter und Behinderter in Arbeit (MELBA). Twenty-five young adults with psychosocial limitations. The MELBA measures work ability in five themes: cognitive, social, work performance, psychomotor characteristics and cultural/technical communication, divided into 29 work-related items, which are assessed by work-related tasks and by observations during work performance. Two raters independently evaluated one participant during the same time/test and independently assigned scores on 19~items out of 29. For this observational study the inter-rater reliability, expressed as the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), was calculated for every item. An ICC of at least 0.75 was considered as showing good reliability, below 0.75 was considered poor to moderate reliability. The ICC for six items was good: comprehension (0.81), attentiveness (0.84), problem solving (0.79), imagination (0.88), independence (0.79) and speed of reaction (1.0) showed good reliability. Especially the items of cognitive characteristics of the MELBA showed a good inter-rater reliability and can be used to measure work ability in people with psychosocial limitations