abstract: 'Background: Youths with physical disabilities face many barriers in

  society, including social exclusion, stigma, and difficulties finding

  employment. Electronic mentoring (e-mentoring) offers a promising

  opportunity for youths with disabilities and has the potential to

  improve their inclusion while enhancing career outcomes. However, little

  is known about the role of mentors in a Web based e-mentoring format to

  improve employment outcomes.

  Objective: This study aimed to explore the role of mentors in engaging

  youths in an e-mentoring intervention and to compare and contrast

  mentors'' engagement strategies within a 12- and 4-week format.

  Methods: This paper drew on a pilot feasibility study, which is a group,

  Web-based employment readiness intervention involving a discussion forum

  for youths with physical disabilities. Our intervention involved having

  trained youth mentors (ie, near-peers who also had a disability) lead

  Web-based discussion forums while offering peer support and resources,

  which involved 12 modules completed over both a 12- or 4-week format. We

  used a mixed method approach including qualitative data (mentor

  interviews and discussion forum data) and quantitative data (pre-post

  survey data) comparison.

  Results: A total of 24 youths participated across 3 e-mentoring

  intervention groups: 9 in the 12-week format (mean age 17.7 years {[}SD

  1.7]) and 15 in the 4-week format (mean age 19.5 years {[}SD 2.6]), led

  by 3 trained youth mentors with disabilities, 2 males and 1 female (mean

  age 22 years {[}SD 2.64]). Our findings revealed that mentors engaged

  youths in the e-mentoring program by providing informational, emotional,

  and tangible support. We noted more instances of mentors providing

  advice, empathy, and encouragement in the 12-week format compared with

  the 4-week format. We also found fewer examples of providing advice,

  developing a rapport, and social support from mentors in the 4-week

  format. Our findings revealed no significant differences between the 2

  groups regarding time spent in the forum, number of logins, number of

  posts, and self-rated engagement.

  Conclusions: Mentors in the 12-week and 4-week format engaged

  participants differently in providing informational and emotional

  support, although there were no differences in tangible support

  provided. Mentors reported that the 12-week format was too long and

  lacked interaction between participants, whereas the 4-week format felt

  rushed and had fewer detailed responses from mentees.'
affiliation: 'Lindsay, S (Corresponding Author), Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabil Hosp,
  Bloorview Res Inst, 150 Kilgour Rd, Toronto, ON M4G 1R8, Canada.

  Lindsay, Sally; Cagliostro, Elaine, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabil Hosp, Bloorview
  Res Inst, 150 Kilgour Rd, Toronto, ON M4G 1R8, Canada.

  Lindsay, Sally, Univ Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.'
article-number: e15813
author: Lindsay, Sally and Cagliostro, Elaine
author-email: slindsay@hollandbloorview.ca
author_list:
- family: Lindsay
  given: Sally
- family: Cagliostro
  given: Elaine
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.2196/15813
files: []
issn: 2561-6722
journal: JMIR PEDIATRICS AND PARENTING
keywords: social support; mentor; youth; adolescent; employment
keywords-plus: 'TRANSITION-AGE YOUTH; SPINA-BIFIDA; YOUNG-ADULTS; EMPLOYMENT; SUPPORT;

  PROGRAMS; SCHOOL; WORK; PERSPECTIVES; ADOLESCENTS'
language: English
month: JAN-JUN
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '68'
orcid-numbers: Cagliostro, Elaine/0000-0003-3079-1141
papis_id: fa846ef74819281c538aec9260d0a738
ref: Lindsay2020webbasedintervention
times-cited: '1'
title: 'A Web-Based Intervention for Youth With Physical Disabilities: Comparing the
  Role of Mentors in 12- and 4-Week Formats'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000780472600008
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '2'
volume: '3'
web-of-science-categories: Pediatrics
year: '2020'