Validation of the Italian version of the HSE Indicator Tool

Background An Italian version of the Health & Safety Executive's (HSE) Management Standards Revised Indicator Tool (MS-RIT) has been used to monitor the working conditions that may lead to stress. Aims To initially examine the factor structure of the Italian version of the MS-RIT, in comparison with the original UK tool, and to investigate its validity and reliability; second, to study the association between occupational stress and psychological distress. Methods Workers from 17 companies self-completed the MS-RIT and the General Health Questionnaire used to measure the psychological distress while they waited for their periodic examination at the workplace. Factor analysis was employed to ascertain whether the Italian version maintained the original subdivision into seven scales. Odds ratios were calculated to estimate the risk of impairment associated with exposure to stress at the workplace. Results In total, 748 workers participated; the response rate was 91%. The factor structure of the Italian MS-RIT corresponded partially to the original UK version. The 'demand', 'control', 'role', ' relationship' and 'colleague-support' scales were equivalent to the UK ones. A principal factor, termed ' elasticity', incorporated the UK 'management-support' and 'change' scales. Reliability analysis of the sub-scales revealed Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.75 to 0.86. Conclusions Our findings confirmed the usefulness of the Italian version of the HSE MS-RIT in stress control.