Improving Environmental Capacities for Health Promotion in Support Settings for People with Intellectual Disabilities: Inclusive Design of the DIHASID Tool

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have unhealthier lifestyles than the general population. To sustainably improve their lifestyle and health status, a whole-system approach to creating healthy environments is crucial. To gain insight into how support for physical activity and healthy nutrition can be embedded in a setting, asset mapping can be helpful. Asset mapping involves creating a bottom–up overview of promoting and protective factors for health. However, there is no asset mapping tool available for ID support settings. This study aims to develop an asset mapping tool in collaboration with people with ID to gain insight into assets for healthy nutrition and physical activity in such settings. The tool is based on previous research and development continued in an iterative and inclusive process in order to create a clear, comprehensive, and usable tool. Expert interviews (n = 7), interviews with end-users (n = 7), and pilot testing (n = 16) were conducted to refine the tool. Pilot participants perceived the tool as helpful in pinpointing perceived assets and in prompting ideas on how to create inclusive environments with support for physical activity and healthy nutrition. This overview of assets can be helpful for mobilizing assets and building the health-promoting capacities of ID support settings

How can care settings for people with intellectual disabilities embed health promotion?

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) depend on their environment to live healthily. Asset-based health promotion enhances a settings’ health-promoting capacity starting with identifying protective or promotive factors that sustain health. Method: This inclusive mixed-methods study used group sessions to generate and rank ideas on assets supporting healthy nutrition and physical activity in Dutch intellectual disability care settings. Participants included people with moderate intellectual disabilities and family and care professionals of people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities. Results: Fifty-one participants identified 185 assets in group sessions. They include the following: (i) the social network and ways “people” can support, (ii) assets in/around “places,” and person–environment fit, and (iii) “preconditions”: health care, prevention, budget, and policy. Conclusion: This inclusive research provides a user perspective on assets in the living environment supporting healthy living. This gives insight in contextual factors needed for development and sustainable embedment of health promotion in the systems of intellectual disability support settings

De krachten gebundeld

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Self-reported measures in health research for people with intellectual disabilities : An inclusive pilot study on suitability and reliability

Background: The lack of suitable and reliable scales to measure self-reported health and health behaviour among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is an important methodological challenge in health research. This study, which was undertaken together with co-researchers with ID, explores possibilities for self-reported health scales by adjusting, testing, and reflecting on three self-reported health scales. Methods: In an inclusive process, the researchers and co-researchers with ID adjusted the SBQ (sedentary behaviour), SQUASH (physical activity), and SRH (self-reported health) scales, after which a test-retest study among adults with ID was performed. Test outcomes were analysed on suitability and test-retest reliability, and discussed with the co-researchers with ID to reflect on outcomes and to make further recommendations. Results: Main adjustments made to the scales included: use easy words, short sentences, and easy answer formats. Suitability (N = 40) and test-retest reliability (N = 15) was higher for the adjusted SQUASH (SQUASH-ID), in which less precise time-based judgements are sought, than in the adjusted SBQ (SBQ-ID). Suitability and test-retest reliability were fair to moderate for the SRH-ID and CHS-ID. The main outcome from the reflection was the recommendation to use SQUASH-ID answer options, in which less precise time-based judgements were sought, in the SBQ-ID as well. Conclusions: This study served as a pilot of an inclusive process in which people with ID collaborated in adjusting, testing, and reflecting on self-reported health scales. Although the adjusted self-reported measurements may be reliable and suitable to the target group, the adjustments needed may impair measurement precision. This study's results contribute to informed decision making on the adaptation and use of self-reported health scales for people with ID.</p

Gaining actionable knowledge to improve local health-promoting capacities in long-term care support settings for people with intellectual disabilities

Objective: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are largely dependent on their environment to live healthily and, in this, ID-support organizations play a vital role. An environmental asset mapping tool for ID-support settings has been developed. This study aims to provide insight into whether or not the tool can provide a comprehensive view on assets in the system and actionable knowledge to improve health-promoting capacities in ID-support settings. Methods: Fifty-seven users from four setting completed the tool on availability, user satisfaction, and dreams regarding social, physical, organizational, and financial assets. Results: The findings provide a comprehensive view of available assets. Together with user satisfaction and dreams for improvements, they provide actionable knowledge for improving the health-promoting capacities of the settings, including: (1) how use of available assets can be improved, (2) the type of assets that should be enriched, and (3) the assets that can be added to the system. Conclusion: The asset mapping tool provides a comprehensive view on assets in the system and actionable knowledge to improve health-promoting capacities in ID-support settings. Practice implications: ID-support organizations can use the tool to generate actionable bottom-up knowledge for priority setting and implementing interventions to improve their health-promoting capacities

Wetenschappelijk rapport. De Krachten Gebundeld.: Ondersteunen van een gezonde leefstijl van mensen met een verstandelijke beperking

Een gezonde leefstijl geeft voor mensen met een verstandelijke beperking grote potentiële gezondheidswinst en meer mogelijkheden tot participatie in de maatschappij. Mensen met een verstandelijke beperking hebben voor een gezonde leefstijl ondersteuning nodig van professionele begeleiders en een gezonde leefomgeving die gezond gedrag stimuleren. In het project De Krachten Gebundeld werkten vier Nederlandse onderzoeksgroepen samen met ervaringsdeskundigen, hun naasten en 19 zorgorganisaties. Het doel was het ontwikkelen van kennis en praktijkproducten die bijdragen aan een gezondheidsbevorderende omgeving voor mensen met een matige tot zeer ernstige verstandelijke en meervoudige beperking, waarin zij worden ondersteund bij en verleid tot een gezonde leefstijl, specifiek op het gebied van voldoende beweging en gezonde voeding

Wetenschappelijk rapport. De Krachten Gebundeld.:Ondersteunen van een gezonde leefstijl van mensen met een verstandelijke beperking

Een gezonde leefstijl geeft voor mensen met een verstandelijke beperking grote potentiële gezondheidswinst en meer mogelijkheden tot participatie in de maatschappij. Mensen met een verstandelijke beperking hebben voor een gezonde leefstijl ondersteuning nodig van professionele begeleiders en een gezonde leefomgeving die gezond gedrag stimuleren. In het project De Krachten Gebundeld werkten vier Nederlandse onderzoeksgroepen samen met ervaringsdeskundigen, hun naasten en 19 zorgorganisaties. Het doel was het ontwikkelen van kennis en praktijkproducten die bijdragen aan een gezondheidsbevorderende omgeving voor mensen met een matige tot zeer ernstige verstandelijke en meervoudige beperking, waarin zij worden ondersteund bij en verleid tot een gezonde leefstijl, specifiek op het gebied van voldoende beweging en gezonde voeding