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Caregiver perceptions of the understanding of death and need for bereavement support in adults with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- MacHALE Rosemary, McEVOY John, TIERNEY Edel
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 22(6), November 2009, pp.574-581.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Care staff are an important source of information and support for people with intellectual disabilities following bereavement. This study explored staff perceptions of service users' conceptualisations of death, reactions to bereavement, required levels of support and staff confidence in providing post-bereavement support. Forty-two staff rated individuals with intellectual disabilities with whom they worked on a regular basis. In general, staff believed that service users had a good concept of death, though staff tended to overestimate levels of understanding and possibly underestimate the potential for dysfunctional behaviour post-bereavement. Although staff expressed confidence in their ability to recognise grief symptoms, they were less confident in their ability to provide post-bereavement support. The implications for staff training and post-bereavement support are considered.
Impact of a 3-day training course on challenging behaviour on staff cognitive and emotional responses
- Authors:
- TIERNEY Edel, QUINLAND Dave, HASTINGS Richard P.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 20(1), January 2007, pp.58-63.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
A range of factors have been suggested as determinants of staff behaviour in the context of working with people with challenging behaviour. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a typical challenging behaviour staff training course had an effect on staff feelings of efficacy, their negative emotional reactions to challenging behaviour, and their causal beliefs. Forty-eight staff from intellectual disability organisations in the Health Service Executive Southern Region in Ireland attending a 3-day training course on understanding challenging behaviour and managing stress were assessed pre-training and at a 3-month follow-up. Questionnaires assessing self-efficacy, emotional reactions and causal beliefs were used. Perceived self-efficacy in dealing with challenging behaviours increased significantly from pre- to post-training. There were no significant changes in either emotional reactions to challenging behaviours or causal beliefs. In common with previous research, there was a sizeable impact on staff confidence and efficacy after a 3-day training course. Given the potential significance of emotional reactions both in terms of staff behaviour and their psychological well-being at work, more research is needed to explore how these reactions might best be dealt with in staff training interventions.