A Social-Ecological approach to Exploring Influences on Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRC) placement of Persons with Long COVID in Competitive Integrated Employment
Open Access DepositedRecent research suggests that an estimated 10 to 35 million Americans have symptoms of Long COVID and that many of these working-age adults cannot participate in the workforce in the same capacity pre-Long COVID (Burns, 2023). In July 2021, Long COVID was reported as covered under the disability criteria of both Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (RA) of 1973 as amended and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, qualifying as a physiological condition and substantially limiting one or more major life activities (U.S. Department of Health Services, 2021). This research study aimed to determine behavioral influences for vocational rehabilitation counselors on the placement of persons with Long COVID into competitive integrated employment (CDC, n.d.-b). The Long COVID Survey for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors was developed, sent to an expert panel for review, and provided to intended research participants. Exploratory factor analysis and binary logistic regression analyses were used to answer the identified research questions. This scale was developed in alignment with the Social Ecological Model, and results from this research suggest that only the Individual and Relationship levels were represented. Results from the binary logistic regression indicated that for every one unit of increase in the individual factor there is 209% increase and for the relationship factor an 89% increase in the odds that an individual with Long COVID will be placed into competitive integrated employment. Many vocational rehabilitation counselors have not attended training on Long COVID; however, an individual with Long COVID will likely seek employment services in the future. Increasing training and supervisory support for vocational rehabilitation counselors can provide additional support for individuals with Long COVID seeking employment services.
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