Enhancing the experience of people with intellectual disabilities who access health care
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice Previous     Next

Enhancing the experience of people with intellectual disabilities who access health care

Carmel Doyle Assistant professor and head of intellectual disability discipline, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Kathleen Byrne Clinical tutor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Sandra Fleming Assistant professor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Colin Griffiths Assistant professor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Paul Horan Assistant professor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Paul Michael Keenan Assistant professor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Increased life expectancy allied to increasing numbers of people with learning disabilities living in the community means that more people with learning disabilities are having their health needs met in acute general medical services. In the context of a person-centred approach, this article examines the potential problems that may arise in all healthcare settings which pose barriers to effective healthcare delivery. These include perceptions and attitudes of healthcare staff, issues of consent and communication. It proceeds to outline solutions that enable these barriers to be overcome. Such solutions centre around addressing communication difficulties and issues of consent as well as developing the education of healthcare professionals. It concludes with a case study that explains how the theoretical principles may be applied sensitively in a practice situation.

Learning Disability Practice. 19, 6, 19-24. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2016.e1752

Correspondence

carmel.doyle@tcd.ie

Peer review

This article has been subject to double-blind review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 18 March 2016

Accepted: 18 May 2016

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