author: Shepherd-Banigan, M., Pogoda, T. K., McKenna, K., Sperber, N., & Van Houtven, C. H.
year: 2021
title: "Experiences of VA vocational and education training and assistance services: Facilitators and barriers reported by veterans with disabilities"
publisher: In Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal
uri: https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000437
pubtype: article
discipline: psychology

country: United States
period: 2018
maxlength:
targeting: explicit
group: disabled
data: interviews

design: qualitative
method: semi-structured interviews
sample: 26
unit: individual
representativeness: subnational, local
causal: 0 # 0 correlation / 1 causal

theory:
limitations: sample restricted to veterans with caregiver; data provide little evidence for supported employment efficacy
observation:
  - intervention: training
    institutional: 0
    structural: 0
    agency: 1
    inequality: age; disability
    type: 1 # 0 vertical / 1 horizontal
    indicator: 1 # 0 absolute / 1 relative
    measures: employment (rtw)
    findings: vocational and educational services help strengthen individual agency and motivation; potential disability payment loss may impede skills development efforts
    channels: primary barriers health problems, programmes not accomodating disabled veteran student needs; primary facilitator financial assistance for education and individual motivation
    direction: 1 # -1 neg / 0 none / 1 pos
    significance: # 0 nsg / 1 msg / 2 sg

notes:
annotation: |
  A qualitative study on the significance of vocational and educational training provided for disabled veterans in the United States.
  It finds that both the vocational and educational services help strengthen individual agency, autonomy and motivation but impacts can be dampened if the potential for disability payment loss due to the potential for job acquisition impedes skill development efforts.
  The primary barriers of return to work efforts identified are an individual's health problems as well as various programmes not acommodating the needs of disabled veteran students,
  while the primary Facilitators identified are financial assistance provided for education as well as strengthened individual agency through motivation.
  Some limitations include a possible bias of accommodations required through the sample being restricted to veterans with a caregiver, which often signals more substantial impairments than for a larger training-participatory sample, as well as the data not being able to identify the impact of supported employment.
