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Community-based Residential Supports for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Challenging Behaviour: The Views of Neighbours
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18(1), March 2005, pp.85-92.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The issue of the views of neighbours of community-based residential supports for people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour has not been examined till date. This study looks at the views of neighbours of two types of community-based residential supports: non-congregate settings where the minority of residents have challenging behaviour; and congregate settings where the majority of residents have challenging behaviour. A self-completion questionnaire was used to collect information on contact between neighbours, residents and staff, and the views of neighbours. Information was also collected by semi-structured interview with service staff on the characteristics of settings. Sixty-four questionnaires were returned. Contact between neighbours and service users was limited for both types of setting, with two-thirds of neighbours not knowing any service users by name, and a third having had no active contact with service users. Neighbours of non-congregate settings were more likely to think that community care was a 'good policy' (76%) than neighbours of congregate settings (53%) and to believe that there were benefits to the neighbourhood from having the group home in the area (46% versus 29%) but these differences were not significant. Contact with people with intellectual disabilities was associated with more positive attitudes to community care and specific characteristics of the settings. Contact between neighbours and people with severe intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour is limited. However, the majority of neighbours are positive about community care and the problems reported by neighbours are predominantly minor. The results point to the key role that contact plays in fostering positive attitudes. Findings regarding differences between congregate and non-congregate settings are limited by the small number of responses from neighbours of congregate settings.
Quality and costs of community-based residential support for people with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, et al
- Publisher:
- University of Lancaster. Institute for Health Research
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 24p.
- Place of publication:
- Lancaster
The aim was to compare the quality and costs of two approaches to providing community-based residential supports to people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour: non-congregate settings where the minority of residents have challenging behaviour; and congregate settings where the majority of residents have challenging behaviour. Congregate care was associated with higher costs, higher staffing ratios, and better quality internal working practices. However, these inputs did not translate to better outcomes for residents. Non-congregate care was associated with greater access to day activities, less reliance of medication and physical restraint to control challenging behaviour, and less risk. Levels of staff contact and participant engagement were low across both models of care.
Staff stress and morale in community-based settings for people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour: a brief report
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18(3), September 2005, pp.271-277.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study looked at stress, morale and intended job turnover in staff in two types of community-based residential supports: non-congregate settings where the minority of residents have challenging behaviour; and congregate settings where the majority of residents have challenging behaviour. A self-completion survey questionnaire was used to collect information on the basic characteristics of staff, levels of staff stress, job satisfaction and propensity to leave their employment. One hundred and fifty-seven questionnaires were returned from staff, the majority of whom were on fixed-term contracts. Congregate settings were not associated with higher levels of stress as might be assumed. Overall, over a quarter of staff reached criterion on the General Health Questionnaire-12 for experiencing emotional distress, and over a third were likely to actively seek new employment in the next year. The greatest perceived sources of stress were lack of resources and lack of staff support. The lowest level of satisfaction was with the rate of pay. Those in non-congregate settings reported greater perceived stress because of lack of procedures to deal with challenging behaviour. The authors concluded that high levels of intended staff turnover may be more due to job insecurity and lack of support than service user challenging behaviour. Employers seeking to reduce turnover should pay attention to basic pay and conditions, as well as staff training in appropriate methods for dealing with challenging behaviour.