Evaluation of horticultural activity from the perspective of administrators and participants at facilities supporting higher brain dysfunction

We evaluated horticultural activities from the perspective of administrators and participants at facilities supporting higher brain dysfunction (traumatic brain injury and cerebral vascular disorder). We queried program administrators with questionnaires and interviews and found that 1) administrators need some horticultural expertise to manage activities successfully; 2) participants interact and communicate with each other during the activity; and 3) participants appear to enjoy the activities, although this was difficult to assess.
We used interpretive structural modeling (ISM) to identify relationships between participants’ interest in plant and horticultural activities, awareness of their disability, and increased communication.
Text mining analysis results of the participant’s impression suggest that 1) temperature extremes made horticultural activities participation more difficult and, 2) cultivation, harvesting, cooking, eating, and communication were enjoyable activities.
Administrators pointed both negative and positive aspects of the horticultural activities; however, in general, we found that administrators with experience in horticultural activities were successful.
We also concluded that while inclement weather can hinder and even prevent execution and enjoyment of horticultural activities, it was clear that the participants enjoyed working together.

VIII International Conference on Landscape and Urban Horticulture

K. Noda, K. Tada, H. Imaizumi, F. Terauchi, K. Takeshige, N. Katakura

interpretive structural modeling (ISM), rehabilitation, text mining, traumatic brain injury, cerebral vascular disorder

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2022.1345.33