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The impact on objective technology of life outcomes of assistive technology in residential services for people with learning disabilities
- Authors:
- PERRY Jonathan, BEYER Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Assistive Technologies, 3(1), March 2009, pp.5-14.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The UK government is committed to preventative technologies and increasingly they are being incorporated into residential services for people with learning disabilities. This paper describes an evaluation of a sample of settings in which various assistive technology (AT) devices have been installed following the assessment of individual residents' needs. The impact of this on residents' objective quality of life was assessed using a range of quantitative measures and through some qualitative questions. Despite some positive consequences of the AT being reported by staff in response to the qualitative items, there was no significant impact on any of the quantitative measures. In isolation, AT does not appear to be sufficient to significantly improve objective quality of life outcomes for people with learning disabilities in residential services. Equally, AT does not appear to reduce objective quality of life outcomes. The challenge to service providers is to ensure that the introduction of AT and any associated change to staffing levels or support procedures translates into improvements in residents' overall quality of life. To detect such improvements future research might have to broaden the range of quantitative methods used and supplement them with qualitative techniques.
Quality of life for adults with learning disabilites in private residential care: monitoring aspects of life experiences over time
- Author:
- SKEA Derek
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 5(2), October 2008, pp.253-265.
- Publisher:
- South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust and University of Huddersfield
The quality of life (QoL) of a sample of 56 adults with learning disabilities was studied longitudinally over 18 months while they lived in community-based private residential homes. Six homes participated in the study. The Life Experiences Checklist (L.E.C) which considers a person’s home environment, leisure, freedom, relationships and opportunities, was used as a measure of QoL. The L.E.C was administered to participants on three occasions at approximately six-monthly intervals. Simple feedback reports giving overall results for the L.E.C (and other measures) were produced for each home at the end of each of these three phases. The L.E.C. results showed that overall participants’ QoL changed significantly over the course of the study, with assessed QoL peaking at phase two after homes had received the first feedback report, and decreasing to near phase one levels by the end of the study. People living in one of the homes, however, sustained the observed improvement in QoL over time. Comparisons were drawn between the L.E.C results for the sample and the general population living in the same area. The sample experienced a lower QoL than the general population regarding Relationships, Opportunities and Freedom L.E.C. sub-scales and had a comparable QoL regarding the Home sub-scale, and higher scores with respect to the Leisure sub-scale. Results are discussed in terms of subjective and objective QoL measurement as an indicator of quality of service provision and in particular the effects of feedback and monitoring per se. It is apparent that in the absence of intervention no sustained improvements in QoL are seen in this sample.
A policy that is failing vulnerable people
- Authors:
- ROBERTSON Janet, EMERSON Eric
- Journal article citation:
- Community Living, 22(2), 2008, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Hexagon Publishing
A recently published knowledge review by SCIE found that placing people way from their families and communities to which they belong is still a widespread practice by authorities and means that thousands of vulnerable people are not receiving the personalised and good quality support. The authors summarise the findings of the review.
Personal vs. proxy focus groups' perspectives on quality of life
- Authors:
- HOLBURN Steve, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 4(3), September 2007, p.210–212.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The authors present a finding from a larger study that investigated variation in perspective among different stakeholder focus groups about enhancing quality of life (QoL) of individuals with intellectual disabilities living in group residences in New York. The report illustrates how self-advocates' interests in enhancing QoL were distributed approximately evenly across home life, relationships, and community, while other groups (family members, direct support staff, and residence managers) were principally concerned about QoL as it pertained to home life. This finding speaks to the importance of querying people with intellectual disabilities personally when assessing QoL.
A home of my own: report from visits to people with learning disabilities who are living in care homes which are registered with the Care Commission as having more than 20 places: June to September 2010
- Author:
- MENTAL WELFARE COMMISSION FOR SCOTLAND
- Publisher:
- Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 29p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
One of the ways in which the Mental Welfare Commission monitors individual care and treatment is through visit programmes in a range of settings throughout Scotland. These visits take place at home, in hospital or in any other setting where care and treatment is being delivered. This report presents findings from a programme of national themed visits to people with learning disabilities living in the larger residential care homes registered with the Care Commission as having more than 20 places. The visits are designed to assess and compare care and treatment for particular groups of people across Scotland. This report provides an overview of findings from a series of visits in Scotland between June and September 2010. Positive outcomes from the visits showed that people had pleasant homely bedrooms where they could spend time with their personal belongings, music, and TV and had some choice in the décor or furnishings. There was good access to primary health care services and Community Learning Disability Teams in nearly all units. However, communal units were less homely.
Does supported living equal better quality of life?
- Authors:
- LAXTON-KANE Martha, SMITH Angie, CROSSLAND Rosalind
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, September 2008, pp.35-37.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
A study by the Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust looked at quality of life for people who have an intellectual disability living across different environments: supported living; residential accommodation; and living with parents. The study used questionnaires to rate quality of life and to measure levels of intellectual disability and challenging behaviour. The findings suggest that people in supported living experience a better quality of life than people who live in other types of accommodation.
Living under the strategy: do outcomes for users of Welsh Community Residential Services lives up to the All Wales Strategy's underlying principles?
- Authors:
- PERRY Jonathan, FELCE David
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23(3), 1995, pp.102-105.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The results of a two-year study which assessed quality of life outcomes for residents of fourteen small-scale staffed houses in Wales are discussed in the context of the principles which underlie the All Wales Strategy for the Development of Services for Mentally Handicapped People.
So good, so far?: a study of quality of life of residents discharged from Llanfrechfa Grange
- Authors:
- JONES Clare, BASSETT Sandra
- Publisher:
- Gwent Health Authority. Clinical Psychology Department
- Publication year:
- 1988
- Pagination:
- 84p., tables, bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Pontypool
Aspirations of people with intellectual disabilities living in a care organization
- Authors:
- BENOOT Toon, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work, 22(4), 2022, pp.1105-1122.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Summary: This article presents the results of a research project involving 10 people with intellectual disabilities concerning their idea of "a good life" in a residential care setting, within a context of personal budgets. We introduce the capability approach as a framework for focusing on the opportunities personal budgets offer for people with intellectual disabilities. We make use of qualitative interviews following a photovoice project in which people with intellectual disabilities documented their lives in order to research what they deem valuable and aspire to. Findings: In the analysis section, we present the elements which the participants identified as limiting and enhancing for imagining their future. From their stories, we learn that their aspirations are nourished by the encounters and social bonds that they engage in within a residential care context. The results make clear that the use of money offers opportunities to elaborate on what is already known and enables the realization of aspirations, while interactions with significant others more often than not encourage participants to explore and try out changes and thus further develop people's set of aspirations. Applications: In drawing the discussion to a close, we explore the implications these stories might have for understanding the role of aspirations in the practice of care and support for people with intellectual disabilities. The findings encourage us to think about a relational pedagogy and to address this in the practices of personal budgets. (Edited publisher abstract)
Relocating people with intellectual disability to new accommodation and support settings: contrasts between personalized arrangements and group home placements
- Authors:
- McCONKEY Roy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 20(2), 2016, pp.109-120.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Internationally the relocation of people with intellectual disability from institutions has brought significant gains to their quality of life. This study contrasted three groups of persons in Ireland who moved either to personalised arrangements (n = 29) or to community group homes (n = 31) with those who remained in congregated settings awaiting relocation (n = 29). Persons moving to rented accommodation with personalized support tended to be younger and had fewer support needs than those in group homes. They had greater control and choice in their lives, more community engagement and increased personal relationships compared to residents in group homes but those remaining in congregated settings fared worse of all. However, average staff costs were significantly higher in the latter settings. The implications for the future provision of group living arrangements are discussed along with the need for further longitudinal research to assess the sustained impact of personalized arrangements and their funding. (Edited publisher abstract)