Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of the effectiveness of horticulture therapy (HT) in Japanese Work Support Centers for Continuous Employment Type B(WCE-B). A questionnaire was mailed to all participating WCE-B. A comparison was made between the importance of and perceived need for improvement across the main work categories and the main disability type of users. The trends in perceptions of the importance of each item were almost identical between agricultural work (AW) and non-AW. In AW, the need to create a reassuring atmosphere, item 9 and 5, was found to be important while in non-AW, the need to provide physical experience opportunities, item 10, was responded to. Perceptions of the importance of each item were similar between people with psychiatric disorder and intellectual disability, with a higher selection ranking for items related to the provision of receptive places perceived as important across AW and non-AW. For psychiatric disorders, the provision of physical experiences in item 10 was needed while the promotion of opportunities for interaction between users in item 9 was needed for intellectual disabilities. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to examine the role WCE-B are expected to play in the future.
