Promoting disability employment with avail® - a pilot study for feasibility and preliminary efficacy

Area of Science:

• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Disability Employment
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Supported employment is a key vocational rehabilitation intervention for individuals with disabilities.
• Challenges like funding and caseloads limit the impact of traditional supported employment.
• Mobile technology offers a potential solution to enhance support and job task performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the mobile software avail.
• To assess the usability, acceptance, and satisfaction of avail among users with disabilities.
• To evaluate the impact of avail on job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and self-determination.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 17 participants with disabilities in the Midwestern United States.
• Participants used avail for a period ranging from 40 to 348 days.
• Data collected through user experience assessments and pre- and post-intervention analysis.

Main Results:

• Participants reported positive user experiences and found avail helpful for job performance.
• A statistically significant improvement in participants' self-determination was observed.
• The software demonstrated feasibility and potential for enhancing supported employment outcomes.

Conclusions:

• avail is a feasible and promising mobile application for supporting workers with disabilities.
• Advantages include real-time support and portability, directly on mobile devices.
• Further development and research are suggested for optimizing the application's impact.