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The uptake of health checks for adults with learning disabilities in England: 2008/9-2011/12
- Authors:
- GLOVER Gyles, EMERSON Eric, EVISON Felicity
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 18(1), 2013, pp.45-49.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
People with learning disabilities generally have worse health than their non-disabled peers. This is in part a problem of identifying ill health in this group and gaining timely access to services. In 2006 the Disability Rights Commission recommended the introduction of annual health checks for people with learning disabilities in England as a reasonable adjustment in primary care to address these health inequalities. This paper reports on trends in the provision of health checks for adults with learning disabilities over the period 2008/9-2011/12. It is based on the analysis of data collected by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care from Primary Care Trusts in England. Over the four years the percentage of eligible adults receiving a health check has consistently increased and now stands at 53 percent. There remain marked variations across both Strategic Health Authority areas and Primary Care Trusts. The authors conclude that there is still some way to go before minimum standards of satisfactory performance in the provision of health checks are achieved nationally. They point to the necessity of considering possible obstacles to provision and how these can be addressed to improve uptake further.
Health inequalities and people with learning disabilities in the UK
- Authors:
- EMERSON Eric, BAINES Susannah
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 16(1), January 2011, pp.42-48.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This report, designed to assist primary, acute and specialist NHS trusts in fulfilling their responsibilities for meeting the health needs of people with learning disabilities, summarises recent evidence from the UK on the health status of people with learning disabilities. It notes that people with learning disabilities have poorer health than their non-disabled peers and that the health inequalities they face start early in life, and draws attention to aspects of health where people with learning disabilities fare particularly poorly. It looks at inequalities in health status, summarising the available UK research literature on the health status and needs of children and adults with learning disabilities since 2002. It also discusses determinants of health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities, covering increased risk of exposure to social determinants of health, increased risk associated with specific genetic and biological causes of learning disabilities, communication difficulties and reduced health literacy, personal health risks and behaviours, and deficiencies in access to and quality of health care provision. The authors conclude by suggesting actions which can be taken to respond to the health inequalities identified.
Residential supports for people with intellectual disabilities: questions and challenges from the UK
- Author:
- EMERSON Eric
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 24(4), December 1999, pp.309-319.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Uses recent developments in services in the UK as a case study to identify some of the challenges facing the provision of residential supports to people with intellectual disabilities. Three main areas are discussed: (1) responding to existing levels of unmet need and increasing levels of demand; (2) reducing inequalities in access to and the quality of services; and (3) obtaining and demonstrating "best value". In particular, discussion is focused on the relationships between needs, resources, process and outcomes in residential services for people with intellectual disabilities and the implications of these relationships for obtaining "best value".