A Peer E-mentoring Intervention to Improve Employment

Cerebral Palsy Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Peer E-mentoring Intervention to Improve Transition to Employment for Youth With Physical Disabilities

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02522507
• Other study ID #: REB 15-590
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 2016
• Est. completion date: July 2020

Study information

• Verified date: March 2022
• Source: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Despite the strong business case of hiring people with disabilities, a significant proportion of youth with disabilities leave high school and neither work nor continue their education and are unprepared to meet the demands of a work environment. Although youth with disabilities have much to gain from employment readiness programs, they are often excluded from, or have limited access to school and community vocational programs. One encouraging approach to address gaps in vocational programming is through peer mentoring, which may facilitate a smoother transition to adulthood by offering support to enhance coping skills. Despite the increase in online communities, little is known about their impact on vocational mentoring for youth with physical disabilities and their parents. The purpose of this study is to develop, implement and assess the feasibility of an online peer mentor employment readiness intervention for youth with physical disabilities and their parents to improve their self-efficacy, career maturity and social support.

Description:

Our primary OBJECTIVE is: (1) to develop, implement and assess the feasibility of an online peer mentor employment readiness intervention for youth with physical disabilities and their parents to improve their self-efficacy, career maturity and social support.

A mixed methods feasibility randomized controlled trial design will be conducted to develop and assess the usability of "Empowering youth towards Employment" intervention. Youth (aged 15-25) with physical disabilities and their parents will be randomly assigned to a control or experimental group (12-week, interactive intervention, moderated by peer mentors). A qualitative thematic analysis will be conducted to analyze the content of discussion forums. Interviews with youth, parents and mentors will also be conducted about their experiences in the intervention.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 44
• Est. completion date: July 2020
• Est. primary completion date: April 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 15 Years to 25 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria for youth participants:

• Able to read/write in English;

• A diagnosed physical disability (i.e., cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury etc.); (4) currently enrolled in or have completed a high school diploma in the applied / academic stream (to screen for cognitive impairment);

• Aged 15-25;

• Have access to a computer and internet;

• Have no paid work experience.

Inclusion criteria for Parents:

• Are the parent of a youth meeting above inclusion criteria

• Can read/write in English

• Have access to a computer with Internet

Exclusion Criteria:

• Recently completed or currently participating in another employment readiness or peer support intervention.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Arthritis, Juvenile
• Cerebral Palsy
• Juvenile Arthritis
• Muscular Dystrophies
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Physical Disability
• Spina Bifida
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Spinal Dysraphism

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Empowering youth towards employment
Experimental: Empowering youth towards employment This is a behavioural e-mentor intervention. Trained mentors will facilitate employment readiness learning and engage youth in discussions over a 12-week period. Each week the mentors will introduce a new employment topic and will engage youth in a discussion and answer questions.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital	Toronto	Ontario

Sponsors (6)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital	Ability Online, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in career maturity inventory--attitude scale (CMI-AS)		baseline (1-week pre-study arm 1), 12 weeks (post-study arm 1)
Secondary	Change in family empowerment scale		baseline (1-week pre-study arm 1), 12 weeks (post-study arm 1)
Secondary	Change in multi-dimensional scale of perceived social support		baseline (1-week pre-study arm 1), 12 weeks (post-study arm 1)
Secondary	Change in Arc's self-determination scale		baseline (1-week pre-study arm 1), 12 weeks (post-study arm 1)