Criteria of Performance Tests for Fitness-for-Duty Assessment

Abstract

Fitness for duty (FFD) tests can be used in workplace settings to identify performance impairment due to alcohol/drugs, fatigue, illness, etc. Accordingly, FFD tests must be both sensitive (able to detect impaired individuals), and more importantly, specific (very few false positives). However, high specificity for performance tests can be achieved only at the price of low sensitivity. A formula for the “sensitiveness” of FFD tests (the proportion of impaired persons detected by the test) is provided to permit comparison of performance and chemical tests based on the test's “sensitivity” and the rate at which persons are tested. An illustrative study is also provided to show that performance tests can meet the requirements of FFD testing. Results of four performance tests, which showed unequivocal deterioration when repeatedly administered to participants over a 24-hour testing period, are provided to demonstrate calculations of the sensitivity and specificity of the tests to fatigue effects.

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