ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Youth and young adults with disabilities experience many barriers in securing employment such as discrimination, inaccessible environments, and lack of support. Youth often need to decide whether and how they should disclose their need for accommodations to employers, which can help them to do their best at work. However, few evidence-based toolkits focusing on disability disclosure exist for youth with various types of disabilities. Supporting youth to develop self-advocacy skills is salient because they are an underrepresented and marginalized group in the labor market. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to conduct a pilot evaluation of a web-based toolkit to enhance disability disclosure for youth and young adults helping to advocate for their needs and request workplace accommodations. METHODS: We conducted 2 in-person focus groups to codevelop a web-based disability disclosure toolkit, which was followed by a pilot evaluation with a pre-post survey. Primary outcomes focused on the relevance of the toolkit content, preliminary perceived impact on knowledge and confidence, and open-ended feedback on the usefulness of the toolkit. Secondary outcomes focused on effectiveness (ie, measures of self-determination). RESULTS: A total of 14 youths with various types of disabilities took part in the study (aged 20-25 years; n=11, 78% female) including 3 who participated in the codevelopment focus group sessions and 11 youths who participated in the surveys. Our findings involved three main themes in the codevelopment sessions that included (1) disability disclosure and workplace accommodation experiences (ie, knowing when, whether, and how to disclose their disability and request workplace accommodations), (2) usefulness of the tool (ie, relatable content, format and design, and suggestions for further development), and (3) perceived impact of the toolkit (ie, navigating disclosure decisions and how to approach employers and develop other relevant employment skills). The survey findings showed that the majority of participants (10/11, 91%) reported that the toolkit increased or changed their knowledge or understanding of disability disclosure. Most participants (8/11, 73%) reported that the toolkit helped to increase their perceived confidence in their daily activities. The majority of participants (8/11, 73%) agreed or strongly agreed that the toolkit was easy to understand and comprehensive. Regarding the preliminary impact of the toolkit, participants did not demonstrate any significant improvements in self-determination (all P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasize the importance of codeveloping a disability disclosure toolkit with youth to enhance its relevance for their needs. Our toolkit indicates preliminary potential as an educational resource for youth and young adults with disabilities as they search for and secure employment. Further research is needed to assess the impact of the tool with larger samples to understand the impact of workplace disability disclosure decisions for youth with disabilities.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Youth with disabilities encounter many challenges during their transition to adulthood including finding employment. Jobs are often inaccessible, and youth often face a lack of support, discriminatory attitudes, and sometimes low self-confidence. Therefore, it is critical to help youth enhance their self-determination skills to advocate for their needs in the workplace. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to describe how an online toolkit aimed to improve self-determination in advocating for needs, including disability disclosure and accommodation requests to employers, was co-created with youth with disabilities. METHODS: We will use a mixed method design in which qualitative data (ie, focus groups and mentored discussion forum) are collected to understand the contextual factors during the intervention that could affect outcomes or explain results through the pre-post questionnaires. Fifty youths with disabilities aged 15 to 24 years will be recruited. RESULTS: Data collection is in progress. Planned analyses include focus groups and pre-post surveys to determine the impact of the intervention on self-determination. A qualitative content analysis of the focus groups and all open-ended survey questions will be conducted to understand the impact of the toolkit. CONCLUSIONS: Our online toolkit includes evidence-informed content that was co-created with youth who have a disability. It has potential for educational and vocational programming for youth with disabilities. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/20463.
ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: 2-butoxyethanol (C6H14O2) is widely used in many industrial reagents; according to the in vitro data it was established that 2-butoxyethanol metabolites are strong haemolytic poisons. Ghanayem B.I., Sullivan Ch.A. (1993) investigated in vitro the effect of BE on the red blood cells of 10 species of mammals, including humans. In this study, the authors established the species specificity with regard to the development of hemolytic anemia under the effect of butoxyethanol. In the context of the available data, creation of experimental model based on the introduction of animal butoxyethanol is taking place. Since the drug-induced hemolytic anemia is formed at the adjacency of toxic and autoimmune forms, the study of immunology of any toxic anemia is of great interest. OBJECTIVE: to develop a new experimental model of hemolytic anemia after butoxyethanol and to study its immunology. In conclusion, the proposed model of hemolytic anemia after butoxyethanol may be used in the experimental and preclinical studies. The intraperitoneal administration of butoxyethanol provokes an autoimmune response directed against own red blood cells. The intraperitoneal administration of butoxyethanol to experimental animals is accompanied by a reduction of the lymphoid tissue that corresponds to the appropriate response to stress in the central and peripheral organs of immunogenesis.
