Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / There is a lack of existing research that investigates the feasibility of using consumers to evaluate the fidelity of evidence-based practices, including supported employment which is an intervention that helps people with severe mental illnesses to obtain competitive employment. Fidelity refers to the extent that the SE program adheres to the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment. The present study was a concordance study that investigated whether or not consumers’ self reports of IPS fidelity information agreed with administrative charts and employment specialists. Additionally, it was hypothesized that consumers’ program satisfaction ratings would be positively correlated with their self reported IPS fidelity scores. An additional purpose of this study was to examine what types of supported employment fidelity items consumers were able to report on. Participants included a volunteer sample of 30 consumers and 5 employment specialists from one IPS program in Indiana. Consumers in the IPS program were interviewed by telephone using a survey that included questions related to their program’s fidelity as well as their satisfaction with the program. Questions were based off of items from the IPS Fidelity Scale and were categorized into the following subscales: work incentives counseling, job search, engagement, organization, staffing, and job support. Similar questions were asked in an employment specialist survey and a chart review. All three sources (consumers, charts, and employment specialists) indicated high IPS fidelity responses on the researcher developed surveys. However, there was a low level of agreement between the sources at both the subscale level and item level. Although there was an overall low level of agreement between sources, there were several items that had a moderate or higher degree of agreement. Additionally, the present study did find a positive correlation between the consumer fidelity score percentage and consumer IPS program satisfaction ratings, supporting the researcher’s hypothesis. Among the items that consumers had difficulty answering were several tapping program level policies such as zero exclusion. Reasons for the discrepancy in agreement between sources as well as clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Syftet med aktuell studie är att belysa arbetsgivares erfarenheter av arbetsrehabiliteringsmetoden SE/ IPS för personer med psykisk funktionsnedsättning på den svenska konkurrensutsatta arbetsmarknaden. Lämplighetsurval praktiserades och utforskande kvalitativ ansats valdes utifrån studiens syfte, intervjuer genomfördes som datainsamlingsmetod och kvalitativ innehållsanalys tillämpades. Analysen av intervjutexterna utmynnade i ett övergripande tema och fyra kategorier. Det övergripande temat ”arbetsgivarnas engagemang för att inkludera kontra produktionskrav och resurser” visar på en spänning mellan arbetsgivarnas starka drivkraft att inkludera personen i samhället utifrån personens vilja till arbete och svårigheten att finna meningsfulla arbetsuppgifter vars krav svarar mot personens arbetsförmåga. De fyra kategorierna är: ”Skapar egna förutsättningar för arbete trots utmaningar”, ”oklara yttre förutsättningar äventyrar arbetsrehabilitering”, ”ständigt drivande och samordnande vägledare” och ”arbetslivet som en del av vardagen”. Slutsats: Arbetsgivarna har tydliga ambitioner att utgöra en utgöra en stödjande omgivningsfaktor enligt PEO-modellen. Resultatet presenterar arbetsgivarnas behov för att kunna leva upp till sina ambitioner. Det kvalificerade stöd i form av information och vägledning som arbetsgivarna efterfrågar motsvaras av PEO-matchning, en teoretisk modell tillämpad inom arbetsterapi. / The purpose of current study is to highlight employers' experiences of the SE/IPS vocational rehabilitation method for people with mental disabilities in the Swedish competitive labor market. Purposeful sampling was practiced and an exploratory qualitative approach was chosen based on the purpose of the study, interviews were conducted as a data collection method and qualitative content analysis was applied. The analysis of the interviews resulted in an overall theme and four categories. The overall theme "employers 'commitment to include versus production requirements and resources", shows a tension between employers' strong ambition to include the person in society based on the person's willingness to work, and the difficulty in finding meaningful tasks whose demands correspond to the person's work ability. The four categories are: “Creates their own conditions for work despite challenges”, “unclear external conditions jeopardize vocational rehabilitation”, “constantly driving and coordinating coach” and “vocational life as part of everyday life”.                Conclusion: Employers have clear ambitions to constitute a supportive environmental factor according to the PEO-model. The result presents employers' needs to meet their ambitions. The qualified support in terms of information and guidance requested by employers correspond to PEO-matching, a theoretical model applied in occupational therapy.