Mini-ICF-APP Inter-Rater Reliability and Development of Capacity Disorders Over the Course of a Vocational Training Program—A Longitudinal Study

The Mini-ICF-APP is an established instrument in social medicine, especially in the context of work ability assessment. In this study, the 13 capacity dimensions of Mini-ICF-APP were tested for its inter-rater reliability in the context of a vocational training program for persons with chronic and mental health problems in Switzerland. Also, the development of capacity impairments was investigated over the course of the long-term vocational training programs.61 training reports on chronically ill persons with mental health impairments were collected within a vocational training program in 2018–2019. Capacity impairment of the trainees were assessed at the beginning of the intervention (t0), after three months (t1) and after 6 to 9 months (t2) by a job attendant and a consultant at each of the three time points. Inter-rater reliabilities for each time point have been calculated. Development of capacity impairment over the course of the vocational training were investigated by variance analysis with repeated measurements.The inter-rater reliability increased in all 13 Mini-ICF-APP capacity dimensions over the course from t0 to t2. Spearman correlation in each capacity dimension reached sufficient values (r = 0.55*–0.97**). There was no statistically significant change of capacity impairment over the course of the vocational training. Ten capacity dimensions showed a decreasing tendency, three showed a tendency to improve capacity levels.Through repeated application and training programs the capacity raters seem to be able to improve reliability of their assessments. The phenomenon of slight increase of capacity impairments over the time may be due to the fact that context and rater’s knowledge on participants and context demands changed over the time.

MOTIVATION AND BARRIERS OF UNEPLOYED PEOPLE REGARDING THEIR PARTICIPATION IN LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMS: A CASE STUDY IN A PREFECTURE OF GREECE

This article presents the results of a survey on the motivation and barriers of unemployed people regarding their participation in lifelong learning programs in a prefecture of Greece. As for the methodology followed, we selected the quantitative research, which was based on the collection of quantitative research data from 109 unemployed persons using a structured questionnaire during November and December 2019. The questionnaire used in this study was based on the PRB Questionnaire, which was slightly adjusted to fit the unemployed population. Specifically, most of the unemployed (62.4%) who participated in this survey stated that they did not participate in any seminar, training program or educational activity related to their profession. Even lower participation rates are found in general adult education programs, with only 22% saying they have attended some educational activity. Regarding the motivation of unemployed people to participate in a vocational training program, the research participants stated that finding a job was the most important motivation. They then set priorities to be more efficient in their jobs, to increase their financial returns and to maintain their future jobs. With regard to the barriers for unemployed people to participate in a vocational training program, the most important obstacle in all questions is the cost of participation. Next in the hierarchy are the lack of information, the difficulty of moving, the lack of time due to work obligations, the lack of time for occupations and the lack of time due to family obligations. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0758/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Socio-Economic and Political Impacts of Vocational Trainings on Tribal Community of Pakistan

This study was conducted to evaluate the role of vocational training imparted by the Federally Administered Tribal Area’s Development Authority (FATA-DA) in the socio-economic and political development of the tribal community in Pakistan. The survey was initiated in the year 2018 in FATA where 400 males in the age group (16-35 years) were selected for data collection through a disproportionate simple random sampling procedure. Cross Tabulation Analysis was conducted using SPSS. The result indicates that vocational training imparted by FATA-DA contributed very less to the socio-economic and political development of FATA’s youth. Among 13 indicators, the impact on only 02 indicators was found significant for the treatment group. This study concluded that vocational training does have a contribution to the socio-economic development of youth but in the case of FATA-DA sponsored training, the result was not desirable. This might be due to certain quality issues that must be taken into consideration during initiating a vocational training program for the socio-economic and political development of youth.

Gonorrhea Prevalence Among Young Women and Men Entering the National Job Training Program, 2000–2017

Objectives. To examine long-term gonorrhea prevalence trends from a sentinel surveillance population of young people at elevated risk for gonorrhea. Methods. We analyzed annual cross-sectional urogenital gonorrhea screening data from 191 991 women (2000–2017) and 224 348 men (2003–2017) 16 to 24 years of age entering the National Job Training Program, a US vocational training program. We estimated prevalence among women using an expectation-maximization algorithm incorporated into a logistic regression to account for increases in screening test sensitivity; log-binomial regression was used to estimate prevalence among men. Results. The adjusted gonorrhea prevalence among women followed a U-shaped curve, falling from 2.9% to 1.6% from 2000 through 2011 before rising to 2.7% in 2017. The prevalence among men declined from 1.4% to 0.8% from 2003 through 2017. In the case of both women and men, the prevalence was highest across all study years among those who were Black or American Indian/Alaska Native and those who resided in the South or Midwest. Conclusions. Trends among National Job Training Program enrollees suggest that gonorrhea prevalence is rising among young women while remaining low and steady among young men.

Evaluating 10 years of state-funded GP training in GP offices in Switzerland

Background Switzerland lacks future general practitioners (GPs). Residents who wished to specialize as general practitioners were formerly trained solely in hospital settings. To better prepare and also attract more young doctors to become GPs, the canton of Bern has implemented a partly state-funded vocational training program in GP practices. Our study examines the efficacy of this 10-year program, identifies factors that positively influence residents in their decision to become a GP and the distribution of new GPs in the canton of Bern, who had taken part in the traineeship. Methods This cross-sectional survey among all residents, who participated in a traineeship in general practice from 2008 to 2017 in the canton of Bern asked if residents had taken a subsequent career choice as a GP and if so in which region. Residents scored the importance of their traineeship and their mentor’s influence on becoming a GP. By using zip codes of work area of respondents already working as GPs and matching it with population census data, we could obtain the distribution of GPs on a per capita basis. Results Out of 165 residents who participated in a traineeship, 151 (92%) completed our survey. 81% had chosen a career as a GP or were on track to become a GP. Almost half of the participants became GPs in the offices of their mentors. Our respondents emphasized the importance of their mentors influence as well as the training program in their decision-making to become a GP. Most mentioned benefits of being a GP were broad field of medical care (37%) and a fulfilling doctor-patient relationship (34%). We could show an increase in GP practices in the canton of Bern, not only in urban but also accordingly in rural areas. Conclusions Most residents continued subsequent careers as general practitioners after having completed a GP traineeship, with almost half of them in the region of their training. A vocational training program helped motivating young doctors to become GPs and underserved regions of the canton of Bern to gain new GPs.