Carer-led health interventions to monitor, promote and improve the health of adults with intellectual disabilities in the community: a systematic review

Using carers to help assess, monitor, or promote health in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) may be one way of improving health outcomes in a population that experiences significant health inequalities. This paper provides a review of carer-led health interventions in various populations and healthcare settings, in order to investigate potential roles for carers in ID health care. We used rapid review methodology, using the Scopus database, citation tracking and input from ID healthcare professionals to identify relevant research. 24 studies were included in the final review. For people with ID, the only existing interventions found were carer-completed health diaries which, while being well received, failed to improve health outcomes. Studies in non-ID populations show that carers can successfully deliver screening procedures, health promotion interventions and interventions to improve coping skills, pain management and cognitive functioning. While such examples provide a useful starting point for the development of future carer-led health interventions for people with ID, the paucity of research in this area means that the most appropriate means of engaging carers in a way that will reliably impact on health outcomes in this population remains, as yet, unknown

Exploring the effects of a 14 week person-centred counselling intervention with learning disabled children

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com Copyright Informa / Taylor and Francis Group. [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]This study evaluates the effects of a person-centred counselling intervention on the learning disabled child's self-concept. The participants are children who attend a London borough school for moderate learning difficulties. The study is qualitative and incorporates two parts: (1) practitioner research via a 14 week person-centred counselling intervention; (2) exploration of teachers' views of the child's self-concept via a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire. The study used person-centred art therapy as an adjunct to counselling. A projective technique was used to measure the child's self-concept.Three out of four child participants indicated an improved self-concept. However, only one out of four teachers' questionnaires indicated a positive movement within the child. This article explores the difficulties encountered as well as highlighting positive paths, and supposes that the results support carrying out this research project over an extended period and with a larger research group.Peer reviewe

Intellectual disability nursing in Ireland: identifying its development and future.

As a profession, intellectual disability nursing has often come under scrutiny and been called into question. Since its inception as an individual nursing profession in 1959 in Ireland, both education and service provision philosophies have changed over time. These changes have been in response to national and international reports and changing attitudes. The changes have led to the current position where intellectual disability nurse education in Ireland is a four-year undergraduate course. As the discipline of intellectual disability nursing is unique to Ireland and the United Kingdom, there is a responsibility on intellectual disability nurses to identify their unique identity and their responses to the demands of changing services. This article traces the development of intellectual disability nursing in Ireland and identifies implications for the future