Date Presented 3/31/2017
These data confirm our previous work and demonstrate that the Vocational Fit Assessment can be used reliably for the purposes of matching persons with developmental disabilities to jobs, providing a new evidence-based practice.
Primary Author and Speaker: Andrew Persch
Additional Authors and Speakers: Karen Guo, Christina Case, Dennis Cleary
PURPOSE: The Vocational Fit Assessment (VFA) was developed to guide job matching decisions for individuals with disabilities. Taking into account the many factors that influence vocational performance, the VFA measures job demands and worker abilities. Preliminary investigation of VFA psychometrics indicated adequate fair (Persch, Gugju, Onate, & Cleary, 2015). Revisions were undertaken to further enhance VFA reliability. The purpose of this study was to quantify the reliability of the revised VFA.
DESIGN AND METHOD: In this cross-sectional survey and psychometric evaluation, high school teachers (N = 9) familiar with the VFA consented to participate in this reliability study. Job demands (n = 42) were measured using the VFA–Job, and worker abilities (n = 47) were measured using the VFA–Worker. Internal consistency measurements were based on Occasion 1 data. Test–retest reliability analysis took the Pearson correlation between Occasions 1 and 2, which were scheduled 2–4 wk apart. Data collection was accomplished electronically. Analyses were performed using SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).
RESULTS: Subscale internal consistencies (ordinal α) were ≥.86 for the VFA–Worker and ≥.85 for VFA–Job. Test–retest reliability of the VFA–Worker ranged from .49–.87. VFA–Job test–retest reliability ranged from .72–.93.
CONCLUSION: These data confirm our previous work and demonstrate that the VFA can be used reliably for the purposes of job matching individuals with developmental disabilities. The VFA is an important component of systematic job matching. Occupational therapists who work in the priority area of transition to adulthood may improve outcomes if they use these evidence-based practices.
References
Persch, A. C., Cleary, D. S., Rutkowski, S., Malone, H. C., Darragh, A. R., & Case-Smith, J. D. (2015). Current practices in job matching for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 43, 259–273. https://doi.org/10.3233/JVR-150774
Persch, A. C., Gugiu, P. C., Onate, J. A., & Cleary, D. S. (2015). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Vocational Fit Assessment. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69, 6906180080. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.019455
