Computerized Workplace Fitness Assessment: Sensitivity vs Specificity

Abstract

Computerized fitness tests are used in workplace settings to measure for impairment resulting from factors such as environmental fatigue, toxic chemicals, environmental stresses, sleep disorders, high workload, illness, emotional upset, and others. One obstacle in implementing these instruments has been resistance from organizations due to concerns with accuracy of the tests and how the scores apply to the tasks in the workplace. Organizations are also often reluctant to adopt this type of instrument due to the potential for false positives in impaired performance. in order to develop a scoring method which addresses these issues by achieving substantial Specificity (>97%), while maintaining high Sensitivity, we employed computerized fitness tests to evaluate subjects with graded alcohol doses. By implementing Multiple Regression and Multiple Cutoff Analyses, we were able to achieve the desired levels of Specificity, while maintaining high Sensitivity.