Two groups of individuals with a learning disability: (1: irregular attenders) people who had opted out of healthcare appointments for avoidable reasons and (2: regular attenders) people attending all appointments or when not attending, did so for unavoidable reasons.

The study authors carried out a  series of interviews with four people with learning disabilities and 13 primary carers and ran a focus group for physiotherapy staff.

The people with disabilities generally identified ‘others’ as being responsible for making their healthcare choices and the authors conclude that more work on understanding healthcare expectations and experiences of people with learning disabilities, carers and healthcare staff needs to be done if people with learning disabilities are to become active healthcare decision-makers.

Inclusion and healthcare choices: the experiences of adults with learning disabilities, Ferguson, M. et al., in British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39: 73–83.