Reliability and validity of Persian version of job content questionnaire in health care workers in Iran

Background: The effect of poor psychosocial work conditions on health status has widely been discussed in occupational literature. Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) is a widely accepted instrument for evaluation of psychosocial work conditions. Objective: To determine the reliability and validity of Persian version of JCQ. Methods: The questionnaire was translated into Persian and back translated. 490 Iranian health care workers completed the questionnaire. After 4 weeks, 196 participants completed the questionnaire once again. Results: Factor analyses revealed an acceptable level of structure validity for the questionnaire. Cronbach's α was more than 0.75 for all scales except for psychological demand (α=0.60) and job insecurity (α=0.27). reassessment of participants after 4 weeks revealed an acceptable level of reliability for all scales except depression. Conclusion: The Persian version of JCQ is reliable and valid for assessing work conditions among Iranian health care workers, although revision is needed for job insecurity and depression scales.