Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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A helping hand
- Author:
- PENFOLD Julie
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, December 2012, pp.12-13.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Inequalities in the standard of healthcare for people with learning disabilities (LD) has been an issue in hospitals for some time, but hospitals in West Sussex are addressing this with recent developments. For example, a computer-based tracking system enables patients with LD to receive specialist support based on their care needs – when a person with LD arrives at the hospital, they are immediately flagged on the system to alert a team of specialist nurses. Additionally, a six page ‘passport’ provides essential information about the person with LD, usually completed by the patient’s carer, and advises hospital staff on all matters regarding the persons health.
Caring for a daughter with intellectual disabilities in managing menstruation: a mother's perspective
- Authors:
- CHOU Yueh-Ching, LU Zxy-Yann Jane
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 37(1), March 2012, pp.1-10.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Parents and carers of women with intellectual disability (ID) may encounter difficulties when dealing with menstruation management. The focus of research in this area has been largely on reducing family carer burden by preventing menstruation through the use of menstrual suppression medication or surgery. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore mothers' experiences and perceptions of managing their daughters' menstruation. Twelve Taiwanese mothers of 13 daughters with ID were interviewed to explore their experiences of providing help to their daughters with high support needs during menstruation. All the mothers reported that their daughters needed complete menstrual assistance. Support networks were limited and mothers developed their own strategies for managing their daughter's menstruation. Surgical hysterectomy or use of medication to cease or postpone menstrual bleeding was never considered. The financial cost of menstrual pads and nappies was significant. The article concludes that both an appropriate allowance for families involved in the menstrual care of women with ID and access to appropriate support are needed. More information and educational programmes need to be provided to relevant professionals and carers.
Bridging the gap
- Author:
- CASTLES Amy
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, December 2012, pp.14-15.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Since learning disability liaison nurse posts where first created 10 years ago, there has been little research to evaluate their effectiveness. This article presents findings from an evaluation of 36 stakeholders in the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. The study explored whether the liaison nursing services was improving the acute hospital experience of people with learning disabilities and their carers. Findings revealed that those who used the service understood the role of the liaison nurse, and felt it was a necessity in an acute hospital. All involved, including hospital staff felt that the liaison nurses had improved hospital services for people with learning disabilities and their carers, as well as improving the working experiences of hospital staff.
Antipsychotic prescribing in people with intellectual disabilities: a clinical audit
- Authors:
- GRIFFITHS Hannah, HALDER N., CHAUDHRY N.
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 6(4), 2012, pp.215-222.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Controversy surrounds the prescribing of antipsychotics for people with an intellectual disability. This paper reviews prescribing practice of antipsychotics by the Salford Intellectual Disability Psychiatry Department in accordance with standards adapted from nationally recognised guidelines. Data was collected from all 178 patients. In total, 126 were prescribed antipsychotics – 42 were for challenging behaviour and 91 had indication documented. There was not very regular documentation of side effects and physical parameters for monitoring metabolic syndrome. This study confirms the use of antipsychotics in management of challenging behaviours in this population as a third of the sample population was being treated with antipsychotics for behaviour problems. The study also shows that there was lack of documentation of physical health and side effect monitoring. It highlights that there should be regular monitoring of physical and side effects with careful documentation.
Checking Up On Des: My Life My Choice's research into annual health checks for people with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire
- Author:
- MICHELL Bryan
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), June 2012, pp.152-161.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This easy read article examines what an Oxfordshire Self-Advocacy Organisation did regarding annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. The four self-advocate researchers with learning disabilities worked with Oxfordshire's Primary Care Health Facilitator and a Professor to find out why only one in four people in our area had a health check in 2009/10. After talking to doctors, the research team concluded that doctors needed more support from professionals who know more about learning disabilities. Regular training is needed for surgery staff and carers to help show them how best to support people with learning disabilities, and people with learning disabilities should act as experts by giving advice to Doctors on how to improve the health checks. Also, doctors needed to improve communication with their patients. ‘Easy Read’ materials should be available on a website for doctors to use with their patients.
Reaching out to people with learning disabilities and their families from black and minority ethnic communities
- Authors:
- POXTON Richard, et al
- Publisher:
- Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 32p.
- Place of publication:
- London
People with learning disabilities and their families from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities continue to experience inequalities in health and social care despite various efforts to improve engagement. The aim of the Reaching out to Families project was to find new ways of addressing this issue - with particular attention to the role of third sector organisations and the use of action learning techniques in order to identify examples of good practice. Four areas agreed to become ‘development sites’: two London boroughs and two English cities, all with very diverse populations. The project used a broad action learning approach, supporting participants to work together to solve real work-based problems, acknowledging and building on actions already being taken in each site. A number of themes were identified through analysis of the interviews with families and in-depth discussion about the issues: effective identification of the needs, concerns and aspirations of different local communities; making sure that people understand what’s available and how local systems work; getting to grips with ‘personalisation’; developing local responses with community organisations; a competent workforce; working together; and being able to measure the impact of policies and practices on different BME communities. This report focuses on these aspects.
Understanding and working with people with learning disabilities who self-injure
- Authors:
- HESLOP Pauline, LOVELL Andrew, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 160p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The aim of this book is to provide information and resources for those supporting people with learning disabilities who self-injure, to help them to provide appropriately individualised care. It is intended as a resource for social workers, psychologists, counsellors, learning support workers, nurses and social and health care students. It synthesises behavioural and psychological approaches to understanding self-injury and draws on psychoanalytic and social theory to provide practical guidelines for effective support. It discusses motivations for self-injury and suggests person-centred techniques that encourage communication and recovery, using case examples. It covers a range of specific needs, including people with autism who self-injure, and explores the views of people with learning disabilities and their families about what has worked best and why.
Healthcare for men and women with learning disabilities: understanding inequalities in access
- Author:
- REDLEY Marcus
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 27(6), 2012, pp.747-759.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Healthcare for people with learning disabilities has risen up the political agenda in the United Kingdom. Mencap’s report ‘Death by Indifference’ followed by the Michaels’s report ‘Healthcare for All’ and the Ombudsman’s report ‘Six Lives’ have all raised concerns over the quality of healthcare received by people with learning disabilities. This has resulted in renewed efforts, set out in the Government’s strategy paper ‘Valuing People Now’, to ensure that people with learning disabilities receive the healthcare they are entitled to. This paper describes the challenges of providing healthcare to men and women with learning disabilities and reviews ‘Death by Indifference’ and the reports produced in its aftermath. It also presents findings from a small-scale study of access to healthcare undertaken in the East of England. Ten research participants were recruited from each of the following occupations: managers of residential accommodation; GPs; learning disability nurses; and care managers. In addition, 4 Vulnerable Patient Leads were recruited from 4 general hospitals. The research participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The findings show that access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities is crucially dependent upon support from family carers and professionals in health and social care. The paper concludes with a discussion of whether the policies in ‘Valuing People Now’ will improve healthcare for people with learning disabilities.
Rights discourses in relation to education of people with intellectual disability: towards an ethics of care that enables participation
- Authors:
- MCKENZIE Judith Anne, MACLEOD Catriona Ida
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 27(1), 2012, pp.15-29.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article argues that human rights approaches people with learning disabilities have failed to recognise the complexity of rights claims made by and on behalf of this group. Drawing on a research project into discourses of education for intellectually disabled people in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, it discerns three rights discourses; namely, rights to full participation, rights to special services and rights to protection. These draw off a social model, a medical model and a protective model, respectively. The authors note that these discourses may be set up in contestation with each other. However, the article argues that they can be seen as complementary if viewed within an ethics of care that enables participation. Within this conceptualisation, participation is viewed within relations of care but is subject to a critique that examines the role of context and disciplinary power in constructing dependency.
A small-scale investigation of hospital experiences among people with a learning disability on Merseyside: speaking with patients and their carers
- Author:
- DINMORE Adam Peter
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(3), September 2012, pp.201-212.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
People with a learning disability face a number of distinct challenges when seeking access to hospital care. Previous research has suggested that there is a lack of expertise in the provision of health care to people with learning disabilities and negative attitudes towards this population held by healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the general hospital experiences of people with learning disabilities at NHS hospitals on Merseyside. Data is drawn from 12 semi-structured interviews each lasting approximately 1 hour. Of these interviews, 2 were conducted with an unaccompanied person with a learning disability, 3 were conducted with a person with a learning disability alongside their carer, and 7 were conducted with the carer or carers of a person with a learning disability. A thematic analysis of the interview data identified 11 primary themes. These themes and their implications for practice are discussed alongside supporting quotes from the interviews. It is concluded that people with learning disabilities on Merseyside continue to contest with the same difficulties during hospital experiences as have been identified previously by numerous national and international investigations.