Assessment of work capacity

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• Assessment of work capacity
• for people with mental retardation
• towards inclusive employment
• 
  
  
  
  Riga Stradins University
• 
  
  Occupational Therapy IV year students
• 
  
  Kristine Bebre, Jelena Bindere,
• 
  
  Inta Doncu, Olga Kozinova,
• 
  
  Linda Kruza
• 
  
  
  
  
  Supervisors
• 
  
  Lolita Cibule
• 
  
  Zane Liepina
• 
  
  Liene Saukuma

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Introduction

• Everybody has rights to be free in choice of
  occupation and work place according to his/her
  abilities and qualification. (Constitution of
  Republic of Latvia, paragraph Human rights).
• Persons with mental retardation (MR) are one of
  the social groups with limited opportunities to
  participate in social and economical life.
• According to research of state Agency of Mental
  Health, there are more than 14 000 individuals
  with MR in Latvia.
• Occupational deprivation is prolonged exclusion
  from occupations of meaning and/or necessity due
  to external forces over which individual/ family/
  community may have little control (Whiteford G.).

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Introduction (2)

• Mostly people with MR suffer from loss of
  productive activities, and they are dependent of
  social benefits. It is important to give people
  with MR opportunity to rise professional skills
  and find job, to be included in labor market.
• Assessment of vocational skills is undeveloped
  area in Latvia. Occupational therapists (OTs)
  should be involved in process of creating system
  of measurement for people with MR working
  capacity (creating, developing and approbating
  instruments).

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Aim of the project

• The long-term aim of the project is to promote
  employment of people with mental retardation
  accordingly individuals interests, skills and
  wishes by creating a form of vocational portfolio
  and to influence changes in employment policy.

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Objectives

• Exploring situation in labour market connected to
  people with mental retardation
• Becoming familiar (enquire practical skills) with
  instruments of objective measuring work capacity
  
• Selecting assessment instruments
• Work behavior inventory - Bryson G., Tamasine G.,
  Bel M.D.l , Edward K.,1997
• Modified visual analog scale to measure self
  confidence
• Scale with 6 sections ilustried with faces
  from crying to happy. Clients marked theyr
  satisfaction with jobs that are able in day care
  center and their confidence in labour market.
  Scale is easy understandable for people with MR.

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Objectives (2)

• Creating a form of vocational portfolio based on
  Work behavior inventory
• Finding and developing partnerships with
  organizations that support people with special
  needs in Latvia building partnerships with
  persons with MR
• Organizing workshop and educating social workers
  about measuring working capacity and skills of
  people with MR and objective assessment using
  vocational portfolio.

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Objectives (3)

• Analyzing results
• Completing form of vocational portfolio,
  reporting about results achieved.
• Introducing practicing OTs with vocational
  portfolio to promote approbation and using it in
  practice.

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Occupational needs

• Employment is an important part of productivity
• Occupation is essential to the maintenance of
  health ...because it determines the chef rhythm
  of our life, balances it, and gives meaning and
  significance. An organ that does not work
  atrophies and the mind that does not work becomes
  dumb. (Sigerist 1955)
• Employment is connected with persons quality and
  satisfaction of life
• Persons with MR have vocational potential.

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Background

• Low self-esteem, comparatively low level of
  education and professional skills, limited
  communication, insufficient motivation of
  employers and environmental barriers are reasons
  why 84 of people with disability consider it
  very hard to find a job.
• A person who is mentally retarded bears special
  needs of working conditions such as physical
  environment, work organization, supportive and
  comprehensive social environment.

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Background (2)

• There are no real possibilities to participate in
  labor market for people with MR in Latvia.
• Adequate assessment with standart instruments is
  essential for clients and society.
• There are no standardized instruments for
  assessing vocational capacity for people with MR
  in Latvia, to apply the most convenient working
  position to potential employee, according to
  his/her abilities and interests.

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Background (3)

• Inventing an objective system of assessment will
  facilitate dividing positions for employees with
  mental retardation, in that sense making the job
  of employer much easier.
• Creating and using vocational portfolio can help
  people with MR to enter labor market and to
  promote inclusive employment in Latvia.

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Participants

• 12 clients of Day care center with slight and
  medium MR
• Dont suffer from psychiatric illnesses
• Working able age (in age between 22 and 40
  years)
• Both genders (6 male, 6 female)
• Able to communicate verbally
• Level of education of clients is between 8 and 12
  classes
• 6 social workers from the same organization

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Realization of the project

• Time of project
• Project was developed and
• realized during intensive program
• Social inclusion towards inclusive
• employment (Bulgaria, Rousse)
• in March, 2008 and occupational therapy study
  program at RSU during study year 2007/2008
• Place of project
• Project was carried out in premises of Day
  care center, Riga, Latvia.

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Indicators of Change and Outcomes

• Created form of vocational portfolio
• Raised self confidence of persons with MR in
  labor market
• Facilitated integration of people with MR in
  labor market
• Raised number of employed with MR
• Raised competence of social workers, facilitated
  dividing of work positions
• Promoted competence of OT students and
  practitioners about vocational rehabilitation
  strategies in Latvia.

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Results and conclusions

• Created form of vocational portfolio

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Results and conclusions

• All participants of projects agreed that
  Vocational portfolio can be used in everyday
  practice of rehabilitation specialists (social
  workers, occupational therapists, etc.) at
  different work places to assess working
  capacities of person with mental retardation and
  to use acquired information to offer work
  position for concrete individual.
• Vocational portfolio will also facilitate
  planning occupations and activities for clients
  of day care center, who dont attend to enter
  labor market at the moment.
• The process of assessment by using Vocational
  portfolio facilitates collaboration among persons
  working with people with MR.

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Recomendations 

• To continue approbating vocational portfolio
  (practicing OTs)
• To introduce with vocational portfolio workers of
  day care centers and other organizations that are
  connected to persons with MR
• To propose using vocational portfolio as a part
  of documentation for persons with MR to enter
  labor market
• To encourage using vocational portfolio in day
  care centers and institutions for planning daily
  activities and occupations for clients with MR.

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Sustainability

• Created vocational portfolio is a long term
  investment in promoting social integration and
  inclusive employment for people with MR,
  according to objective assessment
• Vocational portfolio can be used in OTs and other
  specialists daily practice in several
  institutions and places of practice, in that
  sense inventing a unified system of assessment,
  which will promote collaboration between
  specialists of various profiles in Latvia it
  will systemize daily practice
• During the project important partnerships are
  built, that are significant to promote inclusive
  employment in future.

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References

• Wilccock Ann Relationship of occupations to
  health and well-being. Occupational therapy
  Performance, participation, and well-being (3-d
  ed.), Thorefare, NJ SLACK Incorporated, 2005,
  Page 150
• Sandgvist Jan Development and evaluation of
  validity and Utility of the Instrument Assessment
  of work Performance (AWP), Linkoping university
  Medical dissertation, No. 1009, Linkoping, 2007,
  Page 10-11
• Grove, Bob Mental health and employment Shaping
  a new agenda, Journal of Mental Health, Apr.99,
  Vol.8, Issue 2
• Lova M., Polatajko H., Baptiste S., Taunsende E.
  Nodarbes veicinaana ergoterapijas redzejums.
  Trea nodala Ergoterapijas satura galvenas
  koncepcijas, Kanadas Ergoterapeitu Asociacija.
  1997., Page 26.-28
• Wilcock Ann An Occupational Perspective of
  Health second Edition slack incorporation,
  Thorefare, NJ SLACK Incorporated, Page 67-193
• Law Mary, Client-Centered Occupational Therapy,
  Canada, 1998, Page 37
• Kahana, E, Congruence Model of Person
  environment interaction, 1982, Page 97-121
• Kielhofner Gary Conceptual Foundations of
  Occupational Therapy, second edition, 1997, Page
  146
• Helander Einar Prejudice and Dignity An
  Introduction to Community Based Rehabilitation,
  1989, Page 10-35.
• Baka Anna, Grunevalds Karls Gramata par aprupi,
  Riga, Preses nams, lpp. 100-326.
• Kapina L. Cilveku ar gariga rakstura
  traucejumiem iespejas darba tirgu, Riga 2006
• Starptautiska funkcioneanas, nespejas un
  veselibas klasifikacija, Pasaules Veselibas
  organizacija, eneva, Riga 2003
• Nodarbinatibas Valsts agentura www.nva.gov.lv
  (skatits 05.12.07.)
• Socialas integracijas centrs www.sic.gov.lv
  (skatits 05.12.07.)
• http//www.who.int/disabilities/cbr/en/ (skatits
  20.01.08.)
• http//www.aamr.org/Policies/faq_mental_retardatio
  n.shtml (skatits 20.01.08.)
• http//www.psychiatry.ru/book_show.php?booknumber
  36article_id2 (skatits 06.12.07.)

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Aknowlegments

• OT Uzkalne A. Who translated instrument Work
  behavior inventory as a part of her bachelor
  work
• Day care center Ceribu tilts workers and
  clients for active cooperation and participating
  the project.

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• Thank you for your attention!