Technological Interventions for Vocational Inclusion of Individuals with Disabilities: A Scoping Review

Background: Technological interventions have shown considerable potential in facilitating vocational inclusion for individuals with disabilities. Nevertheless, existing research addresses isolated variables, such as the effectiveness of a specific technology or its application within a particular disability group, neglecting an understanding of the multifaceted factors that influence successful implementation.

Objective: To explore this issue, a scoping review was conducted to identify the range of technologies studied to date and to examine the key elements influencing effective implementation.

Method: Studies published in English and German since 2018 were included. Following the PRISMA guidelines and procedures, a total of 61 articles were systematically analyzed.

Results: The findings indicated that implementing technologies for vocational inclusion is a multifactorial process. Not only are individual characteristics important, but also the nature of the tasks (e.g., structure or type of the task), the characteristics of the technology (e.g., type) and the contextual environmental factors (e.g., setting or other stakeholders). Additional considerations such as motivational aspects, trainings, and the need for individualized approaches also emerged as critical.

Conclusion: The review highlights the importance of engaging multiple stakeholders, particularly people with disabilities, not only in the development of new technologies but also in their integration within real-world workplace settings.

This article is published in the "Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation" (2025).

Bibliographic information

Title:  Technological Interventions for Vocational Inclusion of Individuals with Disabilities: A Scoping Review. 

Written by:  S. Hamideh Kerdar, B. Kirchhoff, L. Adolph, L. Bächler

in: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, Volume 63, Issue 3, 2025.  pages: 325-341, Project number: F 2535, DOI: 10.1177/10522263251376943

Download file "Technological Interventions for Vocational Inclusion of Individuals with Disabilities: A Scoping Review" (PDF, 798 KB, Not barrier-free file)

Research Project

Project numberF 2535 StatusCompleted Project Inclusion opportunities, exclusion risks and task changes for peoples with disabilities as a consequence of use of software tools and digital technologies on the example of cooperative and simple tasks

To the Project

Research completed