Evaluation of a profile comparison system for the inclusion of people with disabilities in horticulture: A case study in Austria

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To promote the successful and sustainable inclusion of people with disabilities in different activities such as work, more precise job matching efforts may be of value, especially because people with disabilities are employed at a lower rate than people without disabilities. Requirement profiles as well as profile comparisons have not yet been recorded for horticultural work processes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to document precisely the work process of the cuttings production of the flower tradescantia and to compare the capabilities of people with disabilities with the requirements for this work process for the purpose of verifying that the tool employed was usable. METHODS: A skilled worker performed the cuttings production of tradescantias according to good horticultural practice. Additionally, five people with disabilities participated in this study. On the one hand, a structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. On the other hand, the work processes were documented with video recordings and described related to REFA (Association for Work Design, Business Organization and Corporate Development) and evaluated according to IMBA (Integration of People with Disabilities into the Working Environment). RESULTS: Apart from the too long working hours, the work in the cuttings production was feasible for the five subjects who had different types of disabilities. There were situations of underchallenges of different degrees, but no overchallenges. It was necessary to assess each subject individually for the risk of accident. CONCLUSIONS: IMBA proved to be an effective tool to evaluate and analyse work activities for the purpose of including people with disabilities into horticultural work processes. Thus, it has the potential to facilitate a socially sustainable and skill-oriented work participation for persons with disabilities.