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People with a chronic psychiatric disorder (CPD) have low employment rates worldwide. This multicenter retrospective cohort study examined the employment outcomes of an innovative in-house vocational training program for people with CPD in Taiwan and explored which program parameters significantly predicted outcomes. Data were retrieved from the records of 323 participants who completed the training program. Satisfactory employment rates were found at 1 (52.9%), 3 (60.4%), and 6 (65.6%) mo posttraining, and 38.7% of participants demonstrated high employment sustainability (employed throughout the first 6 mo posttraining). Three program parameters significantly predicted employment outcomes: (1) occupational therapists' pursuit of additional training or short-term apprenticeship pertinent to clients' job interests, (2) posttraining vocational counseling provided by community-based occupational therapists, and (3) the duration of 6 mo posttraining to allow clients to prepare for competitive employment. Occupational therapist--led in-house vocational training is a promising alternative to traditional vocational training for people with CPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rehabilitation counselor skills, knowledge, and training are significant predictors of quality of employment outcome. In the past decade, vocational rehabilitation (VR) and placement-related work settings in Taiwan have gone through a tremendous amount of change to reflect changing policies, types of disabilities, and global factors. VR professionals’ competencies also need to be addressed to keep pace with this transformation. The purpose of this study was to validate the Taiwanese version of the Systems Approach to Placement: Self-Assessment for Students and Counselors (SAP-SASC), designed to identify critical areas of knowledge, skills, and competencies possessed by practicing VR professionals. A total of 116 participants completed the instrument. The participants represent (a) rehabilitation counseling master’s students from National Changhua University of Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, and National Taiwan Normal University and (b) job coaches, VR case managers, and other VR professionals from the Council of Labor Affairs in Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, and Taipei counties. Multi-trait scaling analysis revealed eight components of VR professionals’ competence (client, health, education, family, social, employer, placement, and funding). The respondents expressed the highest level of competence in providing job seeking and social skills training, addressing job modification needs, performing job analysis, and referring clients of community-based support services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kidney Disease Quality of Life–36 Questionnaire (KDQOL-36™), modified by RAND, has been widely used for measurement of quality of life among hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis patients. The purpose of this study was to refine and evaluate, by using confirmatory factor analysis, the structure of the KDQOL-36™ when the questionnaire was used to evaluate chronic kidney disease patients in Stages 1 to 5 in Taiwan. The psychometric properties of the translated version were determined among Mandarin-speaking adults (N = 428). Because the sample data did not fit the hypothetical model, one item was deleted and nine error terms were estimated. After improving the model fit, the modified model was presented as follows: χ2 = 1390.903, χ2/df = 2.711, p < .001, goodness-of-fit index = .833, adjusted goodness-of-fit index = .806, root mean square error of approximation = .063. According to the study results, the researchers suggest that because of content overlap, some items may be deducted from the KDQOL-36™. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]