Employment Service Provider Knowledge of Service User Assistance Needs

Abstract

Employment service provider knowledge of service users' assistance needs was assessed by the extent of agreement between the service users' work-related self-efficacy and ratings assigned by service providers. Thirty-two employment service user and provider pairs were recruited from 5 local disability employment services offering intensive assistance to people with psychiatric disabilities to find and keep employment. Service users and providers were interviewed separately. Matching questions enabled the service user's work-related self-efficacy to be compared with the service provider's perception of user efficacy in performing 37 core work-related tasks. Information about health status, work history, and future employment expectations were also collected. Little agreement was found between service user and provider ratings of service user efficacy. Service user ratings were negatively associated with psychological distress and positively associated with service user expectations of vocational success and the clarity of their own vocational goals. Service provider ratings were positively associated with length of contact in months, current employment, service providers' views of the clarity of users' goals, and a gender match between users and providers. The low agreement represents low service provider knowledge of service user assistance needs at the task level. Increasing provider knowledge of service user work-related efficacy may improve the tailoring of assistance to individual needs. Further investigations are now needed to test whether this promising approach can improve employment outcomes in supported employment for people with psychiatric disabilities.