Instrument development of the Vocational Fit Assessment – Self-Report and content validity procedures

Abstract

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (PwIDD) are unemployed in the United States at rates much higher than that of the general population. Current job matching practices rely largely on proxy-report of worker abilities, resulting in decreased opportunity for self-determination. As Patient Reported Outcome Measures rise in popularity in other fields as a means of directing patient-centered care, job matching assessments should follow to support client-directed services. The Vocational Fit Assessment (VFA) is an existing tool which compares proxy-reported worker abilities with job demands and creates job matching reports that guide and support job matching decisions. The aims of this thesis were to 1) adapt the existing Vocational Fit Assessment (VFA) into a format that is appropriate for self-report by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and 2) develop content validity procedures to assess the adapted assessment, the Vocational Fit Assessment – Self-Report.