LePage James P, Walters Scott T, Cipher Daisha J, Crawford April M
VA North Texas Health Care System and Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States of America.
School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, United States of America.
Eval Program Plann. 2023 Apr;97:102254. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2023.102254. Epub 2023 Feb 8.
We describe the development and pilot evaluation of an online vocational rehabilitation program, the About Face Online System (AFOS), for veterans with a history of felony convictions and either mental illness and/or substance use disorders.
Phase One was the development and acceptability testing of the online system. Phase Two was a small, randomized trial comparing the likelihood of obtaining employment among people using the AFOS, compared to people receiving a self-directed hardcopy manual, after 6 months.
In Phase One, 17 veterans provided feedback as the system was being developed. The final system allows veterans to receive education on vocational reintegration skills, watch short videos describing the techniques, and communicate with a vocational staff member via chat features. Veterans found the AFOS to be as acceptable as a hardcopy manual that covered similar material. In Phase Two, 38 veterans with a history of felony convictions and either mental illness or substance use disorder were randomized to receive the AFOS or a hardcopy manual. After 6 months, people randomized to the AFOS were more likely to obtain employment than people randomized to the hardcopy manual.
An online vocational program may help veterans who cannot attend traditional in-person vocational services to successfully obtain employment.
我们描述了一个针对有重罪定罪史且患有精神疾病和/或物质使用障碍的退伍军人的在线职业康复项目——“转身在线系统”（AFOS）的开发和初步评估。
第一阶段是在线系统的开发和可接受性测试。第二阶段是一项小型随机试验，比较使用AFOS的人与在6个月后收到自行指导的纸质手册的人获得就业的可能性。
在第一阶段，17名退伍军人在系统开发过程中提供了反馈。最终系统使退伍军人能够接受职业重新融入技能教育、观看描述这些技巧的短视频，并通过聊天功能与职业工作人员交流。退伍军人发现AFOS与涵盖类似内容的纸质手册一样易于接受。在第二阶段，38名有重罪定罪史且患有精神疾病或物质使用障碍的退伍军人被随机分配接受AFOS或纸质手册。6个月后，被随机分配到AFOS的人比被随机分配到纸质手册的人更有可能获得就业。
一个在线职业项目可能有助于那些无法参加传统面对面职业服务的退伍军人成功获得就业。
