Can training offered to shopping mall employees improve their knowledge about disability and perceived self-confidence in interacting with persons presenting various limitations?

Abstract

Background: Social models of disability support environmental factors as major determinants of participation. The social environment can act as a facilitator for people with disability. The purpose was to explore if a training offered to shopping mall employees can improve their knowledge about disability and perceived self-confidence in interacting with persons presenting various limitations. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pre and post-training and 3-month follow up measures with a control group. Participants were employees of a shopping mall working at least 3-shifts/week. Outcome was a quiz type questionnaire developed with experts to measure knowledge about disability and self-confidence in interacting with clients with various limitations. Non parametric statistics were used. Results: Whereas the control group (n = 11) did not show significant differences in scores for either knowledge about disability (p = 0.40) or self-confidence in interacting with people with disability (p = 0.37), the experimental group (n = 7) improved in knowledge (p = 0.009) and in self-confidence (p = 0.03) when comparing scores before training with post-training and three months later. Conclusion: These results suggest a 3-h training, including theory and experimentation of what it feels like to live with a disability, increased knowledge levels and perceived confidence of shopping mall employees in interacting with this clientele.

Keywords:

• social environment
• disability
• training
• knowledge
• self-confidence
• quasi-experimental design

Public Interest Statement

Individuals with disability represent the largest minority group and their number is expected to increase due to aging of the population. These individuals are facing challenges in using public services such as a shopping mall. According to the World Health Organisation, one of the upcoming challenges for an ageing society is to develop age-friendly services and settings that enable active participation. As such, the social environment (e.g. employees) can act as a facilitator of inclusion of individuals with disability in public environments (e.g. shopping mall) as this is supported conceptually and empirically. However, shopping mall employees lack knowledge and skills as to how to interact with individuals with various limitations. Results from this study has shown that a 3-h training, including theory and experimentation of what it feels like to live with a disability, increased knowledge levels and perceived confidence of shopping mall employees in interacting with this clientele.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the special collaboration of the following individuals: Ms Alice Havel, Counsellor and Christine Lister, Access Abilities Administration at the Dawson College, Mr Olivier Beausoleil, from the City of Montreal, Ms Marie-Claire Vachon and Mr Roody Bernard from AlterGo Formation. Also, thank you to FPI Cominar, owner of the Alexis Nihon Mall.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Annie Rochette

This study was part of the Rehabilitation Living Lab project which is the first interdisciplinary and multisectorial research study to explore the principal obstacles, either physical or psychosocial, to social participation and inclusion for persons with disabilities in a commercial mall environment, referred to as a Living Laboratory (www.crir-livinglabvivant.com/index.html). The Rehabilitation Living Lab project is funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS) and is conducted by researchers from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR) and their partners. CRIR’s mission is “to contribute comprehensively to the autonomy and social integration of persons with physical disabilities, through basic research as well as through clinical, epidemiological, evaluative and applied research in both the biomedical and psychosocial domains, on all aspects of the handicap production process.”