Objective: Currently, there is no standardized questionnaire for regular workplace health check-ups in Japan. We considered that there are several issues associated with this, including the possibility that the questionnaire items are not useful for occupational health staff. Therefore, our study aimed to examine the questionnaire items required in regular health check-ups from the occupational health practice perspective and prepare a draft of a standardized medical questionnaire. The ultimate goal is to promote integrated management and utilization of the health-related information obtained from the questionnaire in the future.
Methods: This non-interventional study, conducted from February 2018 to November 2020, examined the questionnaire items for the regular health check-up using the Delphi method. Twenty-two occupational health professionals, including occupational physicians and nurses with qualifications in occupational health, participated in the study. The self-administered questionnaires used by contracted industrial health associations across Japan were obtained, and items from all questionnaires were extracted. A survey questionnaire was then developed, consisting of eight primary headings: "personal attributes," "work-related information and work history," "life history and subjective symptoms," "current and past medical history," "family history," and "pregnancy status," with a total of 589 items. Participants were asked to rate the degree of necessity for each item, excluding the items in "personal attributes" and "pregnancy status." The items with low ratings were excluded, and the remaining items were redesigned and distributed to the participants with the tabulated results. This process was repeated three times to allow the participants to rate the necessity of the items consistently. The questionnaire items with a consensus ratio exceeding 70% on the third try were adopted. The final adopted questionnaire items were again reviewed by the participants and agreed upon by all.
Results: A total of 85 items were adopted under five primary headings, including 12 items for "work-related information and work history," 11 for "life history," 22 for "subjective symptoms," 37 for "current medical history," and three for "past medical history."
Conclusion: The items for the regular health check-up were finally adopted under the primary headings of "work-related information and work history," "subjective symptoms," and "current medical history." We assumed that these items provide an overview of health information that can be utilized in occupational health practice. Based on our findings, there is a need to develop a standardized questionnaire for regular health check-ups and to consider the management and utilization of workers' health information.