How special interest groups can support safe sexual well-being in adults with learning disabilities
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

How special interest groups can support safe sexual well-being in adults with learning disabilities

Felicity Watkin Assistant Psychologist, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Philip Emery Community Nurse, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Matthew Doughty Occupational Therapist, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To familiarise yourself with the role of special interest groups (SIGs)

  • To realise the potential of collaborative working

  • To understand how SIGs can support safe sexual practices in people with a learning disability

Special interest groups (SIGs) create a shared space in which healthcare professionals can network and collaborate on topics of mutual interest. These groups support the development of multiprofessional expertise and knowledge sharing by providing a forum in which healthcare professionals can hold collaborative discussions on methods that will improve practice and care quality, and how to translate these into practice. Research shows that people with learning disabilities are more at risk of sexual abuse or exploitation, therefore they require support in areas such as relationship safety, emotional and sexual well-being, and sexual rights. This article describes how the North Staffordshire community learning disability team developed a SIG to support and promote safe sexual well-being for adults with learning disabilities and explains how the forum benefits staff, the organisation and service users.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2020.e2085

Peer review

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

@CombinedNHS

Correspondence

felicity.watkin@combined.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Watkin F, Emery P, Doughty M (2020) How special interest groups can support safe sexual well-being in adults with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Practice. doi:10.7748/ldp.2020.e2085

Published online: 28 July 2020

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