Enhancing Early Risk Detection for Reduced Earning Capacity: The Development of the padaCura App

In Germany, 1.7 million individuals received reduced earning capacity pensions in 2020, but reintegrating them into the labor market remains challenging. For individuals who have a reduced earning capacity, this often leads to adverse consequences (e.g., low quality of life, poverty, social stigma). The project ‘Cooperation for prevention, fitness and health in the job center (KOPF22)’ focuses on early risk detection and prevention strategies for clients of the job center (who are recipients of Citizen’s Income) as they face various challenges in maintaining their ability to work. The padaCura App, a key component of the project, assesses the risk of reduced earning capacity using an ICF-based questionnaire. It offers immediate feedback reports to clients, categorizing their risk levels and suggesting actions in plain language with visual aids. Since the project emphasizes the client’s autonomy and voluntary participation, clients decide how to proceed with their results. If they decide to cooperate with the job center, then several offers for prevention and intervention measures can be used to increase employability. The first evaluations of the app and the questionnaire demonstrate its effectiveness in differentiating between employable persons and incapacitated individuals. Future developments should focus on enhancing the result reports to include more targeted interventions and on collaboration between employment support resources and healthcare systems to meet clients’ needs.