State of the Science Conference
September 15-16, 2005

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Remote Workplace Assessments

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Slides Index Slides 1-11 Slides 12-21

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12. Assessment Framework
13. Types of Information Assessed
14. Job Factors
15. Usability Factors
16. Mediating Factors
17. Investigation
18. Interpretation
19. Intervention
20. Next Steps
21. Acknowledgements

Slide 12 of 21

Assessment Framework

Graphic of the Assessment Framework chart used to categorize measures from each assessment tool. "Information Type" appears as the categories on the far left of the chart, reading down in a vertical fashion starting with Job Factors, then Personal Factors, Place Factors, Performance Factors and Mediating Factors. "Activity" appears across the top of the chart, reading across in horizontal fashion starting with Investigation, then Interpretation, and Intervention.

Slide 13 of 21

Types of Information

Job Factors

1. Functional
2. Environmental
3. Performance

1. Person
2. Place
3. Performance

1. Individual Factors
2. Employer/Organizational and Situational Factors
3. External Factors

Slide 14 of 21

Job Factors

Functional

• Physical demands, temperaments/behaviors, aptitudes
• e.g., kneeling, bending, lifting, intelligence, color discrimination, hearing, expressing personal feelings, making judgments

• Physical, organizational, and social
• e.g., lighting, noise, chemicals, forklift, telephone, ladder

• Job tasks, responsibilities
• e.g., answering the telephone and assisting callers, recording messages for department personnel,

Slide 15 of 21

Usability Factors

Chart depicting a column for "person", one for "place", and one for "performance" which list the types of information that might be gathered in each area.

Slide 16 of 21

Mediating Factors

Individual/Family/Caregiver Contributions:

• Preferences
• Cultural, spiritual beliefs, values

• Preferences
• Regulations and policies
• Existing equipment, technologies, furniture
• Support
• Financing (e.g., decisions by third party payers)

• Legal restrictions - building codes, safety regulations
• Cost & Availability of equipment and/or training

Slide 17 of 21

Investigation

Existing Conditions

• Discovery and acquisition of relevant information from multiple sources, rather than just intuition and experience
• Description of contributing factors, i.e., conditions, processes and events that influence, restrict and/or enhance P-E fit
• Independent measures (e.g., range of motion, height of shelf, use of a AT)

• Description of P-E fit/misfit based on actual (e.g., observable) or self reported outcomes of P-E transactions
• Outcome variables of P-E transactions (how well: ability is demonstrated, interface works, task is done) and associations (e.g., abilities are affected by the demands of the environment)
• Dependent measures (e.g.: success/failure, ease/difficulty, independence/ dependence, satisfaction, comfort)

• Causal relationship between: a) existing conditions and problems and b) among the 3 usability factors
• Characterized by adverbs/adjectives of degree or intensity of a defined level or characteristic of person (e.g., can't reach low enough), place (e.g., shelf too low), or performance (e.g., not bending enough)

Slide 18 of 21

Interpretation

Prescriptive Requirements for Accommodations

• Characteristics of the intervention (needs) based on investigative efforts filtered through clinical reasoning and previous experience
• Usability criteria: physical description of accommodation characteristics (e.g., raise toilet seat to 17" min, install fold-down grab bars on both sides of toilet)

• Characteristics of the intervention (needs) based on investigative efforts filtered through clinical reasoning and previous experience
• Usability goals: performance requirements that accommodations must meet (e.g., minimize lowering down to toilet, provide supports for both arms when transferring to toilet, make toilet higher)

Slide 19 of 21

Intervention

Alternative Solutions

• Translation of usability criteria filtered through mediating factors into strategies or specific accommodations that will potentially create desired conditions or "best fit"
• Action plan with of one or more potential "best fit" alternatives that meet some or all criteria

Slide 20 of 21

Next steps

Develop a comprehensive assessment for remote use by rehab professionals
Approach to comprehensive assessment

• The greater the number of activities and types of information included in the assessment the > comprehensiveness
• However, while all of the types of information/factors (rows) are required, all activities (i.e., columns) are not
• e.g., Judgments may not be specifically included in an expert assessment tool as judgment are intuitively develop through the expert's clinical reasoning skills

Slide 21 of 21

Work RERC

Supported by grant #H133E020720
from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR),
U.S. Department of Education

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