Background Image Alternative Text: A man who is blind using his phone on a beige couch.

Development of Be My Mentor: A Flash Mentoring Intervention

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to develop and test Be My Mentor, an electronic flash mentoring intervention that aims to improve employment outcomes of adults who are blind or have low vision (B/LV).

Research Questions

  1. What are the most prevalent career mentoring needs, issues, and challenges of adults who are B/LV?
  2. What are the essential features of a flash mentoring intervention to address the career mentoring needs, issues, and challenges of adults who are B/LV?
  3. To what extent is the flash mentoring intervention suitable for and acceptable to participants?
  4. To what extent are the proposed outcome measures appropriate for evaluating the intervention’s effects on the target population?
  5. Does the intervention show promise in improving career-search self-efficacy, career engagement, and psychosocial well-being of employed and unemployed adults who are B/LV?

Study Summary

Mentoring is widely recognized as a beneficial strategy for promoting career development and employment, but research on mentoring interventions for people who are B/LV is very limited. Existing studies have focused primarily on youth or college students and traditional, long-term mentoring models. Be My Mentor uses an innovative approach that combines flash mentoring—short, focused, one-time sessions—with e-mentoring, leveraging technology to provide flexible, timely career-related support.

Be My Mentor will be integrated into the Be My Eyes mobile app, allowing users to request ad hoc flash mentoring sessions with trained mentors. First, the research team will conduct surveys and focus groups to identify user needs and preferences, which will inform the design and development of the intervention. Next, software developers from Be My Eyes, in collaboration with the research team, will develop the flash mentoring platform through an iterative process. Finally, the research team will conduct a feasibility study to assess the intervention’s practicality, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

This project will produce a scalable, technology-driven flash mentoring intervention tailored to the needs of adults who are B/LV. Findings will advance research on career mentoring for this population, provide a foundation for widespread implementation, and inform future research on intervention effectiveness.

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