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Reflections on a participatory project: the rewards and challenges for the lead researchers
- Authors:
- CONDER Jennifer, MILNER Paul, MIRFIN-VEITCH Brigit
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 36(1), March 2011, pp.39-48.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Participatory research offers potential for people with an intellectual disability to have an active voice in service provision. Using the example of a project to develop a quality of life tool in New Zealand, this paper aims to address 3 issues raised in a 2004 article by Ramcharan, Grant, and Flynn in relation to participation of people with an intellectual disability in research: lack of detail about level of participation, how people have been supported in their participation, and the extent to which participation in the project has changed the lives of the participants. The article includes a brief overview of the project, and presents a discussion drawn from reflections on the research process by the researchers. The researchers worked with people with an intellectual disability who were service users as co-researchers or participants in choosing indicators of quality of life. The article discusses the participation of the 6 co-researchers and 95 participants, the support provided, and whether co-researchers' and participants' lives were changed. The authors note that although the project achieved its goal of people with intellectual disability authoring a quality of life tool, there was a variation in participants' contribution, and the financial and practical support of the contracting organisation was crucial to enabling people to take part.
Experiences of therapists trying to reduce falls risk for people with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- PAL Jaya, HALE Leigh A., MIRFIN-VEITCH Brigit
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 10(4), 2014, pp.314-320.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
As a starting point to guide the development of research into possible fall prevention strategies for people with ID, the authors interviewed a purposive sample of physiotherapists and occupational therapists currently working for one service organization in New Zealand. A series of semistructured interviews were conducted using an open-ended questioning technique. Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Five categories emerged from the interviews: the therapist's roles, successful and unsuccessful strategies, justification of strategies, barriers, and future strategies. Four main fall prevention strategies were identified that therapists thought to be most useful, including environmental modifications, participation in physical activity and exercise, prescription of assistive mobility devices, and education on safe mobility. It was concluded that the experiences and insights of the therapists could provide direction for future research as well as for therapists currently working in the field. (Edited publisher abstract)