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Commentary on: a comparison of dementia assessment service provision across three English county intellectual disability services
- Author:
- DODD Karen
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 26(3), 2021, pp.142-147.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the issue of types of assessment offered by services for people with learning disabilities from the research study “A Comparison of Dementia Assessment Services for People with Intellectual Disabilities”. Design/methodology/approach: The commentary is based on a review of the associated literature. Findings: Assessment for possible dementia is a complex activity. The gold standard is to ensure that the assessment process is comprehensive including both direct assessments with the person and gathering information from key informants. The issues in not adopting this methodology are considered, as are issues in what services and assessments are called. Originality/value: The commentary considers the studies presented from a practitioner perspective. (Edited publisher abstract)
Evaluation and effectiveness of pain recognition and management training for staff working in learning disability services
- Authors:
- MACKEY Ellen, DODD Karen
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(3), September 2011, pp.243-251.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study asked managers of learning disability services how they recognised pain and how they managed pain for people with learning disabilities, before and 3 to 5 months after training. Participants included 197 managers of learning disability services in Surrey, England. Training covered pain thresholds, pain recognition and management, health action plans and medicines policies. At the end of training attendees were asked about their service’s management of pain. Findings revealed that after training, significantly more services were using communication tools such as picture scales and more pain recognition tools such as the Abbey pain scale and the Disability Distress Assessment Tool. Use of pain management strategies did not change significantly. There was a significant increase in the number of services including information on how a person displays pain, the possible causes of pain and how a person likes their pain managed in their health action plan. The authors concluded that staff training helps services to be more aware of pain and improves the range of methods used.
Knowledge of mental capacity assessment in staff working with people with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- CHAPMAN Ashley, DODD Karen, ROGERS Laurence
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 14(1), 2020, pp.14-24.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate staff knowledge of Mental Capacity Act (MCA) capacity assessments within the Learning Disabilities division of a Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Trust. The limited research available suggests staff knowledge tends to be poor, particularly concerning who is the decision maker. Design/methodology/approach: A 12-item multiple choice questionnaire, which reflects the five core principles of MCA (2005), was developed. Questionnaires were completed by 262 health and social staff members who support people with LD. Findings: Results show high variability of MCA capacity assessment knowledge within the LD division. However, qualified staff and those from health services scored significantly higher across all categories on the questionnaire compared to non-qualified and social care staff, respectively. On average, all staff scored poorly when asked to identify “who is the decision maker?” in a case scenario question. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation is that the researachers did not collect data on how many previous capacity assessments and discussions each person had been involved with. The findings clearly suggest current methods of training lack efficacy in helping staff apply MCA knowledge to their clinical work. Originality/value: Compared to past literature, this study utilised a novel and more comprehensive questionnaire. This focused on case scenario questions to assess staff situational judgement. In addition, the findings add to a sparse evidence base that provides a foundation for future research. (Edited publisher abstract)
Developing and piloting the QOMID – quality outcome measure for individuals with intellectual disabilities and dementia
- Authors:
- DODD Karen, BUSH Alick, LIVESEY Alexandra
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 9(6), 2015, pp.298-311.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Outcome measurement is a key priority for services. There are no papers on specific overall quality outcome measures for people with intellectual disabilities who have dementia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and piloting of a new measure. Design/methodology/approach: A process was developed to measure quality outcomes across all stages of dementia. The reliability of the tool was measured using Cronbach’s α coefficients, along with data about its clinical utility. Findings: The QOMID has good reliability, face validity and internal reliability suggesting that all domains contribute equally towards the construct of quality outcome. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that there may be four or five sub-factors within the QOMID, The clinical utility of the assessment tool was explored and it can be concluded that the QOMID is simple, fairly quick and effective. Research limitations/implications: The scale has good psychometric properties and the initial parameters for the QOMID were met. Further exploration of factors needs to be considered with a larger sample of participants. Practical implications: The scale was liked by assessors and gives a practical tool that can both measure the quality outcome for people at each stage of their dementia, and help to develop more effective care plans. Originality/value: This is the first measure to look at quality outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities and dementia and which takes a staged approach. (Publisher abstract)
'Feeling poorly': report of a pilot study aimed to increase the ability of people with learning disabilities to understand and communicate about physical illness
- Authors:
- DODD Karen, BRUNKER Jo
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27(1), 1999, pp.10-15.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article presents the findings of a pilot study which investigated whether people with learning disabilities can understand and communicate more effectively symptoms of illness. Assessments for GPs, clients and carers were designed in order to ascertain the nature of consultations currently taking place, and the level of awareness that clients had of their body and being ill. Also looks at the assessment and teaching resource developed for the project.