Effective and meaningful engagement and involvement of people with learning disabilities in the services and support they receive is at the heart of current policy, with considerable effort being put into its promotion. This article looks at the live experience of involvement of people with learning disabilities who use services using a focus group methodology. [read the full story…]
The POMONA II European project developed a checklist of health indicators and this study looked at age-specific differences relating to environmental and lifestyle factors. The study team collected information from a stratified sample of 1,253 adults with learning disabilities across 14 European member states. The results showed that people over 55 were more likely to [read the full story…]
This study looked at the adult protection monitoring data collected by two local authorities comparing referrals for alleged sexual abuse to referrals for other types of abuse. The authors found that over 20% related to alleged sexual abuse, with 66% of these for women. Sexual abuse was confirmed in just over a 25%. They conclude [read the full story…]
A three phase project to develop, implement, and evaluate a palliative care training programme responsive to learning needs of staff providing services and supports for individuals with learning disabilities living in long-term care settings was evaluated. Participants in the programme were asked to rate their levels of preparation and confidence, before and after receiving the [read the full story…]
40 residential staff from 15 residential facilities completed a questionnaire about their knowledge of the risk and protective factors of stomach, breast, cervical and testicular cancer. They also completed questionnaires regarding 90 adults with learning disabilities to record details about: body mass index (BMI) lifestyle choices relating to health, e.g. diet, smoking etc testing for [read the full story…]
40 professionals working in 10 multidisciplinary community teams for people with learning disabilities in south Wales took part in the study, although psychologists and psychiatrists were not included as psychiatrists were not co-located with the team and psychologists were consulted during the development of the study. Three scenarios based on actual cases were constructed and [read the full story…]
Depression can be difficult to spot in people with learning disabilities. The Royal College of Psychiatrists in its information leaflet points out that for many people with learning disabilities expressing their feelings in words may not come easily, so their actions may speak for them. They suggest that sudden changes in behaviour or mood, or [read the full story…]
People with learning disabilities and complex mental health problems are often most at risk of being placed in services a long way from their homes, their families and any natural support systems they may have built up. This study interviewed 17 service users directly affected in this way: they had all been placed away from [read the full story…]
The onset of the menopause in women with learning disabilities occurs earlier than in the general population, and earlier still in women with Down’s syndrome (DS). This study set out to listen to a number of women with learning disabilities to find out what they knew about the menopause and about their sexual health more [read the full story…]
A birth cohort study carried out by researchers in Finland has discovered a predictive association between being a bully in childhood and becoming a mother in adolescence. The Finnish 1981 birth cohort study included 2,867 Finnish girls at baseline in 1989. Information, both on the main exposure and outcome, was available for 2,507 girls. Both bullies and victims [read the full story…]
