Use of Braille in the Workplace by People Who Are Blind

Interest in the benefits of braille for people who are blind is high among professionals in the blindness field, but we know little about how braille is used in the workplace. The broad purpose of this study was to learn how employed people who are blind use braille on the job. Specific topics investigated included: work tasks refreshable braille technology (RBT) is used for, personal and job characteristics of RBT users compared to non-users, and factors associated with RBT use among workers with at least moderate braille skills. This study utilized data from 304 participants in a longitudinal research project investigating assistive technology use in the workplace by people who are blind. Two-thirds of our participants used braille on the job, and more than half utilized RBT. Workers who used RBT did not necessarily use it for all computer-related tasks they performed. RBT use was generally not significantly related to job characteristics, except for working for a blindness organization. RBT use was not significantly related to general personal characteristics but it was significantly different based on disability-related characteristics. Only older age and higher braille skills were significantly associated with RBT use on the job in a multivariate logistic regression model.