Legal Dimensions of Disability Evaluation: Work Disability and Human Rights

Abstract

Although the vocational assessment and job placement processes occur at opposite ends of the rehabilitation spectrum, with vocational assessment in the initial stage and job placement as the culmination of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, they work in tandem. For both processes, a holistic understanding of the client's functional capacities and barriers is essential lo providing effective VR services. This chapter describes the applications of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) in vocational assessment and job placement and discusses their potential for improving the effectiveness of VR services. In addition, the chapter reviews empirical studies that have investigated predictors of successful employment outcomes in VR and links this research lo the ICF conceptual framework. The ICF presents a dynamic model for understanding health and functioning and includes the following components: body functions, body structures, activities and participation, and contextual factors. Within its classification system, the ICF presents precisely defined codes for all of the components, with the exception of personal factors, which have not yet been classified. Personal factors include demographic variables such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, coping styles, educational background, and lifestyle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)