Getting information from people with learning disabilities about their health is often done through discussions with professionals and carers. The authors of this study wanted to know more about the health problems people with learning disabilities themselves reported and whether there were differences from what their carers’ reported. They explored this by carrying out a [read the full story…]
Those of you who like nothing more than to pour over spreadsheets full of social care and mental health statistics (you know who you are) may shed a tear today, as it sees the final publication of the Social Care and Mental Health Indicators from the National Indicator set, which is soon to be replaced [read the full story…]
A key indicator of service outcomes for people with learning disabilities is quality of life. However, there continues to be debate in the literature about the best way to define this and the best way to measure it. Most of the major service providers in the UK for example have some form of routine outcome [read the full story…]
People who take psychiatric drugs are well aware of the daily trade-off between the benefits and the harms of their medication. This is a key consideration for pregnant women with depression, who don’t just have to consider the side effects that may strike them, but also the impact they may have on their unborn child. [read the full story…]
The government have published their new alcohol strategy for the United Kingdom. The last few years has seen a fall in the number of alcohol-related deaths in many other countries, but the UK has bucked this trend and has seen a rise in deaths from liver disease and an increase in hospital admissions related to [read the full story…]
The authors of this review set out to take a comprehensive look at the literature relating to the outcomes for Children of parents with learning disability to test assumptions that such children are at risk of poor outcomes. The authors identified 26 studies from a database and reference search published in one year from March [read the full story…]
Young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are usually given some kind of behavioural or educational intervention to help improve their overall functioning. However, in some cases, those individuals who have high levels of repetitive, obsessive-compulsive type behaviours and mood disorders are treated with drug interventions, although there is little high quality evidence to support [read the full story…]
We recently posted about the views of older people with learning disabilities and the things they wanted in relation to their support. In recent years there have also been a number of projects that have focused on ways to provide support to older carers of people. Those projects have suggested the key mediator role of [read the full story…]
As general practitioners take the lead on commissioning for the NHS in England, a qualitative study of GPs and managers from four primary care trusts (PCTs) reports that active management of disparate groups leadership is a success factor, and that organisational processes may be a hindrance. The team from the School of Community-based Medicine, University [read the full story…]
In 2008, the Prison Reform Trust carried out work on the issues facing people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, resulting in the ‘No One Knows’ report which suggested they faced ‘personal, systemic and routine’ discrimination from the point of arrest through to release from prison. One key finding was that less than [read the full story…]
