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From premise to practice: applicability of a consensus statement for supporting adults with IDD who are frail
- Authors:
- BARABASH Tori, OUELLETTE‐KUNTZ Helene, MARTIN Lynn
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(2), 2021, pp.670-674.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Study of frailty in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is relatively new. To build the body of literature, an international consensus statement on how to support adults with IDD as they become frail was developed based on fictional cases. This study examined the face validity and applicability of the consensus statement to real‐world care planning. Method: Twenty‐three care plans for adults with IDD who were classified along the frailty continuum were reviewed. Documented goals, actions and outcomes were coded according to the consensus statement's principles and recommendations. Results: The recommendations ‘Improvement and maintenance are viable goals’ and ‘Intersectoral collaboration is needed’ were documented the most often. Attention to the needs of formal and informal caregivers was mentioned the least often in care plans. Conclusions: This study provides some support for the face validity of the consensus statement and its applicability to supporting adults with IDD who are frail. (Edited publisher abstract)
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for care staff supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults
- Author:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Department of Health and Social Care
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department of Health and Social Care
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Place of publication:
- London
Guidance for care staff who are supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The guidance includes information on keeping people with learning disabilities and autistic people safe, supporting them to understand the changes they need to make during the COVID-19 outbreak, and helping staff protect their own wellbeing. It includes links to relevant resources. It builds on the COVID-19 adult social care action plan and more detailed guidance published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence. [First published 24 April 2020. Last updated 24 August 2021] (Edited publisher abstract)
Services for adults with learning disabilities who display challenging behaviour: well-matched and skilled staff
- Author:
- BAKER Peter
- Publisher:
- Challenging Behaviour Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 11p.
- Place of publication:
- Chatham
The distress and trauma which can be experienced if someone is placed in an inappropriate and poorly monitored setting is all too evident with recent exposure of abuse and poor practice. Those commissioning often expensive placements must be able to access evidence-based information which demonstrates what a good service should offer. This pamphlet has been produced as a guide for professionals who commission services for adults with learning disabilities who display challenging behaviour. These individuals have complex health and social needs. Service provision must be directed by the needs of the individual and there should not be an expectation that these people can be fitted into existing services if such services do not address the complexities of their needs. The pamphlet suggests which professionals should be involved, what should be looked for in a service, what skills are required by the workforce and how service provision can be monitored.
Targeted support and telecare in staffed housing for people with intellectual disabilities: impact on staffing levels and objective lifestyle indicators
- Authors:
- PERRY Jonathan, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 25(1), January 2012, pp.60-70.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The age profile of adults with learning disabilities more closely resembles that of the general population in the UK than at any time previously, and as a result increased provision of opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities to live independently is required. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life consequences of living with less intensive staff support following the introduction of more targeted support (referring to flexible staff allocation) coupled with telecare. A targeted support and telecare intervention was implemented at staggered intervals by an agency providing support for people with intellectual disabilities to live in the community. A range of equipment was installed which could monitor various aspects of the environment and provide alerts if support was needed, and a revised staffing model reducing support at particular times was introduced. Data was collected at 4 points over a two-year period, covering information about participants (collected through interviews with staff who knew them well), setting descriptors, quality of care and lifestyle indicators. The results of the analysis indicated that a combination of targeted support and assistive technology had no adverse short-term effect on participants' quality of life, but reduced staff input. The authors discuss the findings and their implications.
Basic personal care MOT
- Authors:
- CARR Deborah, WELLINGTON Sam
- Publisher:
- Nottinghamshire Council. Learning Disability Partnership Board
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 16p.
- Place of publication:
- Sutton-in-Ashfield
The aim of this document is to provide advice and guidance to staff assisting people with a learning disability in aspects of basic personal care. It covers the topics of personal hygiene, oral hygiene, fingernail and hand care, toenail and foot care, shaving, hair care, clothing. This supplements policy and guidance in the development of a personal support plan which forms part of the person centred plan.
Cancer prevention and health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities: an exploratory study of staff knowledge
- Authors:
- HANNA L. M., TAGGART L., COUSINS W.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 55(3), March 2011, pp.281-291.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
People with intellectual disabilities are living longer but are also at increased risk of health problems compared to the general population. Recognising the early signs and symptoms of cancer in a population with cognitive impairment and communication difficulties poses difficulties for family and professionals alike. Engagement in health promotion and cancer prevention is also a challenge. This postal survey explored how carers address these challenges. Forty staff, across fifteen residential facilities in Northern Ireland, completed a questionnaire about the risk and protective factors of stomach, breast, cervical and testicular cancer. They then completed questions about 90 adults with ID, recording body mass index, lifestyle choices (i.e. smoking, diet), Helicobacter pylori testing, family history of cancer and staff's health promotion and cancer prevention activities with them. The women had significantly higher BMIs than the men and only two people had been tested for the H. pylori infection. The majority of the staff had not received training in cancer prevention and most were unaware of the family histories of the people in their care. There was considerable variation in how staff approached health promotion and screening for specific cancers. The authors conclude that health promotion and cancer prevention activities for people with ID could be improved. The importance of staff training in order to raise knowledge and awareness is highlighted.
Choices for people with intellectual disabilities: official discourse and everyday practice
- Authors:
- ANTAKI Charles, FINLAY W. M. L., WALTON Chris
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 6(4), December 2009, pp.260-266.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Official policies on "choice" for people with intellectual impairments tend toward fundamental life choices (e.g., who to marry, what job to work at) at the expense of the minor but more frequent concerns of daily living (when to wash, what to eat, where to go in the evening). The authors undertook an examination of how choice policies are actualised in day-to-day activities in two group homes. Data were drawn from a broader ethnographic study of residential services for people with intellectual disabilities serviced by National Health Service Trust in the United Kingdom. Conversation analysis, used to explicate the interactions, showed how staff, although undoubtedly well-meaning, use the discourse of choice to promote institutional managerial objectives, thus demonstrating a gap between practice and overarching policy theory and recommendations.
'Now I'd like to sleep with Rachael' - researching sexuality support in a service agency group home
- Author:
- HAMILTON Carol Anne
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 24(3), May 2009, pp.303-315.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Many intellectually disabled people living in agency services require significant forms of support to live safe and satisfying sexual lives. Research reveals that despite support personnel working in service systems now holding largely positive attitudes towards sexuality assistance, proactive practice is rarely initiated. This article probes what might lie within this attitude/assistance gap. This investigation reveals a complex picture of practices that rely on intellectually disabled people showing conformation to a 'couple doing normal' ideal, so as to be judged capable of being supported. It examines how wider social locations of meaning related to 'intellectual disability' and 'sexuality' might substantiate these judgement calls. The degree to which it can be said that worker's own attitudes and values underpin their reluctance to provide support is then explored. Finally, why researchers and practitioners might need to reappraise the complex interactions that shape worker's practice in this area is discussed.
Who will care after I'm gone? An insight into the pressures facing parents of people with learning disabilities
- Author:
- FITZROY
- Publisher:
- FitzRoy
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 25
- Place of publication:
- Petersfield
The report draws on the findings from three focus groups and in-depth interviews with parents of people with learning disabilities to identify the pressures they face looking after their sons and daughters, and their concerns for the future. A online survey was also completed by 188 care frontline care workers to find out their perspective. The report summarises the key issues raised by parents in the research and provides an individual case study to illustrate their concerns. Key issues identified were: the support available to their son or daughter after their parents had died; the difficulties of securing good quality care and support, and feeling they needed to be ‘in crisis’ to do so; cuts in funding and lack of continuity of care; and incorrect needs assessment from social services. Issues identified in the survey of front line care staff included concerns about how the spending cuts would affect their role and the support they could give; and the poor social status of their job. The report’s recommendations call for local authorities to provide a whole lifetime approach to care; an improvement in the status and pay of care work; and the promotion of adult family placement, such as Shared Lives schemes, to enable adults outside the immediate family to provide people with learning disabilities with care and support. (Edited publisher abstract)