Health issues of older people with intellectual disability in group homes†

Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability
B BowersChristine Bigby

Abstract

This paper explores how group home staff in Victoria, Australia, responded to residents with an intellectual disability (ID) as they developed age-related health conditions. The analysis was based on a longitudinal study that followed 17 ageing group home residents over a 3-year period. Eighty-three interviews were conducted with 30 group home staff in 17 group homes. Dimensional analysis, a variant of grounded theory, guided data collection and analysis. Findings revealed that the organisations all had systems in place to address health issues. However, the results also suggest an inability of staff to differentiate between significant health conditions and normal age-related changes, thus contributing to delays in care for serious medical conditions. Lack of knowledge about normal ageing and an absence of organisational policies influence timeliness of diagnosis and treatment for people with ID. Group home staff could be more effective advocates for older residents, leading to improvements in health outcomes, if they had basic knowledge about normal ageing and symptoms of common age-related illnesses and if group home agencies provided clearer guidance to their staff. The study has implications for staff education and organis...Continue Reading

References

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May 10, 2002·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·M P JanickiP M Ladrigan
Jan 7, 2005·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·C A MelvilleR Collacott
Jan 22, 2008·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·C BigbyB McKenzie-Green
May 10, 2008·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·S M GibbsW J Muir
Aug 11, 2010·Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability·Ruth WebberChristine Bigby
Dec 2, 2010·Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability·Teresa Iacono
Dec 22, 2010·Health & Social Work·Rolanda L WardRuth I Freedman
Jul 6, 2011·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·J RobertsonR Greig

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Citations

Aug 20, 2020·Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities : JARID·Feija D SchaapEvelyn J Finnema
Sep 14, 2016·Western Journal of Nursing Research·Anne E Roll, Barbara J Bowers
Oct 2, 2019·Journal of Intellectual Disabilities : JOID·Åsa AlftbergGerd Ahlström
May 6, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Laura García-DomínguezVíctor B Arias
Jun 15, 2021·Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities : JARID·Darragh McCauslandPhilip Dodd
Nov 10, 2021·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·J RyanE A Burke

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