ERIC Number: EJ995878
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Apr
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-3552
EISSN: N/A
Access to, Use of, and Attitudes toward Telecommunication among Rural VR Clients
Ipsen, Catherine; Rigles, Bethany; Arnold, Nancy; Seekins, Tom
Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, v56 n3 p172-181 Apr 2013
Telecommunication offers rural vocational rehabilitation (VR) clients a method of communicating with their VR counselor between face-to-face visits. Unfortunately, certain telecommunication methods may not be available to many rural VR clients or may pose barriers in the rehabilitation process. This article describes findings from an exploratory survey of 225 rural VR clients recruited from seven VR agencies across the United States. The mail-based survey explored client access to telecommunication, current telecommunication use during the VR process, and client attitudes about using telecommunication to receive VR services. Although 61% of respondents said they had personal access to a computer with Internet and 63% reported that email would be a "very" acceptable or "somewhat" acceptable method of communicating with their counselors, only 39% reported communicating via email with their counselors. Although a variety of factors play into the effectiveness of telecommunication as a VR service delivery mode, email communication might increase the frequency and productivity of VR client and counselor interactions. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Vocational Rehabilitation, Telecommunications, Rural Areas, Access to Computers, Counselor Client Relationship, Surveys, Electronic Mail
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A