Job Coaching

Objective: To examine the effect of individual job coaching and use of health threat in a job-specific occupational health education program in preventing work-related musculoskeletal back injuries during manual materials handling in construction laborers. Methods: Two hundred five laborers were recruited by 3-stage cluster sampling process and randomly assigned to receive different education programs on manual materials handling. Control group was given a conventional program, whereas experimental group received a job-specific program. Results: A statistically significant group difference was found in the knowledge and practical skills on manual materials handling after training (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the results from 1-year cumulative incidence revealed a significantly lesser number of first-time reports of work-related musculoskeletal back injuries in the experimental group. Conclusions: These results indicate that job-specific education is an effective preventive strategy for work-related musculoskeletal back injury.

Background Major depression (MDE) is prevalent in men and affects men’s health and productivity. Because of the stigma against depression and social/gender norms, men are less likely to seek help for emotion and stress-related issues. Therefore, innovative solutions tailored for men are needed. With rapid development of the Internet and information technologies, one promising solution that has drawn considerable attentions is electronic mental (e-mental) health programs and services. Objective The objective of our study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the e-mental health program BroHealth on reducing the risk of having MDE and improving productivity and return to investment. Methods The target population is Canadian working men who are at high risk of having MDE (N=1200). Participants will be recruited using the method of random digit dialing across the country and workplace advertisement. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated into the following groups: (1) a control group, (2) a group receiving BroHealth only, and (3) a group receiving BroHealth and telephone-based job coaching service. The groups will be assessed at 6 and 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome is the risk proportion of MDE over 12 months, which will be assessed by the World Health Organization's (WHO’s) Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form for Major Depression. Intention-to-treat principle will be used in the analysis. The 12-month proportions of MDE in the groups will be estimated and compared. Logistic regression modeling will be used to examine the effect of the intervention on the outcome, controlling for the effects of baseline confounders. Results It is anticipated that the randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be completed by 2018. This study has been approved by the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Review Board of the University of Calgary. The trial is funded by a team grant from the Movember Foundation, a global charity for men’s health. BroHealth was developed at the Digital Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, and the usability testing has been completed. Conclusions BroHealth was developed based on men’s needs. We hypothesized that BroHealth will be an effective, acceptable, and sustainable product for early prevention of MDE in workplaces. ClinicalTrial Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02777112; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02777112 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6lbOQpiCG)

Objective: People who are homeless experience many barriers that affect their ability to gain and sustain work. In this study, we investigate whether personal job coaching support contributes toward employment success. Methods: The short- and long-term employment outcomes of 2,480 clients participating in a labor market program were analyzed. Results: Clients being supported by a job coach have significantly higher chances of gaining employment than those not being supported. This holds particularly true for the youngest age-group. Furthermore, results also indicate that job coaching improves clients’ chances of successfully sustaining employment. Conclusions: Personal approaches and individual coaching seem to be promising strategies in social work practice and specifically in return to work programs for people who have experienced homelessness.

Many secondary students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not taught employability skills and routines needed for competitive or supported employment in regular community environments. Literacy-based behavioral interventions (LBBIs) that combine print, pictures, and behavioral rehearsal are effective for promoting acquisition and maintenance of numerous skills, but have not been investigated as a job coaching intervention for individuals with ASD. In this study, a peer coworker was taught to deliver an LBBI guide to students with ASD as a job coaching intervention for three skills in an employment preparation routine: preparing and selling coffee in a work-site food truck. Results showed students’ accuracy with the skills in the work routine increased, and maintained after the intervention.

This guide is intended to address the many roles and functions of job coaches in various employment settings. The guide was written to assist the following groups of service providers: (1) vocational rehabilitation personnel working in rehabilitation facilities, sheltered workshops, work activity centers, or other supported work-oriented programs; and (2) school system personnel, specifically those involved with work experience or work study transitional programs. The materials included can be used as a self-study or inservice training programs text, an aid to supervisors planning to hire job coaches, or a guide for agencies seeking to establish supported work programs. The following topics are covered in the individual chapters: vocational evaluation, job development, job analysis, client-to-job matching, on-the-job training, and worker evaluation. Each chapter describes techniques and procedures that have been found to be effective in actual job coaching situations. Initial employer contact, employment survey, position/job site survey, job analysis, client analysis, client-to-job matching, task analysis, production rate, and supervisors' employee evaluation forms are also provided. Appendixes include information about supplemental security income and lists of agencies serving and journals dealing with disabled populations and related employment issues. (MN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Job Coaching in Supported

Research objective: To determine if using a personal digital assistant (PDA) reduced the need for personal supports and improved work performance and competence among adult workers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Design: Waitlisted randomised controlled trial (RCT) with two intervention groups: the experimental group received the PDA intervention upon starting their job placement; the control group received the same intervention 12 weeks after commencement. Setting: Competitive employment work settings in Virginia, United States. Participants: Fifty-five adults with ASD commencing paid work placements with the support of a job coach consented to participate. Participants were randomised to either the experimental group (n = 28) or control group (n = 27). Two and three participants dropped out of the experimental and control groups, respectively, and were not included in the final analysis, leaving a final sample of 50. Intervention: An occupational therapist determined individual participants’ support needs, configured relevant applications on PDAs and provided training to participants on how to use the applications at work. Applications included task lists and reminders, visual prompts, wayfinding tools, Wi-Fi-enabled communication with their job coach and behavioural adaptation cues. The occupational therapist shadowed participants at work and faded support as applications were integrated into work tasks. Outcome measures: Baseline functional independence was measured with the Craig Handicap Assessment and Rating Technique (CHART). Job coaches used the Employment Subscale of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS-EPS) to assess participants’ work-related support needs at 4, 12 and 24 weeks. Quality of work performance was rated by job coaches using the Employee Performance Evaluation Report (EPER). Number of hours worked by participants and job coach support hours were reported by the job coaches. Main results: Participants used no more than five PDA applications for job support. The experimental group received 1.56 times less cumulative hours of job coach support compared to the control group at 12 weeks (P = 0.0056), and 1.67 times less support at 24 weeks (P = 0.0061). Occupational therapy support hours were not reported. Estimated savings in job coaching costs averaged $379 over 12 weeks and $2,025 over 24 weeks. SIS-EPS and EPER scores did not differ between the experimental and control groups at all time points. Authors’ conclusions: The PDA was a cost-effective adjuvant support, and when introduced at job commencement, did not decrease job performance while significantly reducing the number of personal support hours provided by job coaches. Occupational therapists should be trained in the use of PDAs as cognitivebehavioural aids before trialling them in vocational settings. Contact details of original author: [email protected]

This paper has identified the relationship between on-the-job coaching and job performance by considering the external forces involved in this relationship. The framework of the study illustrates the relationship between on the job coaching and job performance. The research has used quantitative design by application of case study technique. The data was collected through questionnaires from Marketing Sales Executives (MSEs) in the Rawalpindi/Islamabad regions of Glaxo-Smith-Kline (GSK). The paper has identified several variables which constitute coaching and it was found by the results that job performance has a positive relationship with on-the-job coaching. Furthermore the variables of coaching like coach ability, team coordination, action learning, and flexibility of the coach are also positively related with Job Performance. The paper suggests that at GSK, coaches need to lead from the front and use action learning techniques more often and they should perform what they deliver to the employees. Several rewards can also be given to trainees who perform well during the session. Sometimes a pat on the back can increase motivation immensely which in turn increases their performance on the job.

The effectiveness of job coaching for persons with mental challenges at the Yokohama City Comprehensive Care Continuum is examined through case records. The immediate intervention with the client, as well as improved working conditions through consultation with the company are recognized as crucial for the client's optimum adjustment at the work site. On the other hand, in a case where the client quit the job, we can see that the inadequacy is in the assessment of the client and of the working conditions. Improved assessments are needed. Using the principle and the strategies of supported employment developed in America, the goal of job coaching at Y.C.C.C. is to form an adequate support system for the client, both at the workplace and in other living and social situation which influence the client in the workplace.

Providing employment-related services, including supported employment through job coaches, to individuals with developmental disabilities has been a priority in federal policy for the past twenty years starting with the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act in 1984. We take advantage of a unique panel data set of all clients served by the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs between 1999 and 2005 to investigate whether job coaching leads to stable employment in community settings. The data contain information on individual characteristics, such as IQ and the presence of emotional and behavioral problems, that are likely to affect both employment propensity and likelihood of receiving job coaching. We control for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity using fixed effects and instrumental variable models. Our results show that unobserved individual characteristics and endogeneity strongly bias naive estimates of the effects of job coaching. However, even after controlling for these, an economically and statistically significant effect remains.

Providing employment-related services, including supported employment through job coaches, to individuals with developmental disabilities has been a priority in federal policy for the past twenty years starting with the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act in 1984. We take advantage of a unique panel data set of all clients served by the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs between 1999 and 2005 to investigate whether job coaching leads to stable employment in community settings. The data contain information on individual characteristics, such as IQ and the presence of emotional and behavioral problems, that are likely to affect both employment propensity and likelihood of receiving job coaching. We control for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity using fixed effects and instrumental variable models. Our results show that unobserved individual characteristics and endogeneity strongly bias naive estimates of the effects of job coaching. However, even after controlling for these, an economically and statistically significant effect remains. J