Person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs: barriers and facilitators
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs: barriers and facilitators

Sweet Melissa Leoncio Nursing student, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Anne-Marie Martin @am_martin Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

Why you should read this article:
  • To recognise the barriers to person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs

  • To read about initiatives designed to engage service users and their carers in person-centred planning

  • To acknowledge the need for practitioners to be innovative when developing person-centred plans

Over the past two decades person-centred planning has been used to support people with learning disabilities to fulfil their personal aspirations. This has been backed up by national policies that have adopted the principles of person-centredness. However, widespread barriers to the implementation of person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities have been reported and the literature suggests that implementing person-centred planning is particularly challenging for people with more complex needs.

This article discusses the findings of a literature review that explored the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs and their carers. The article identifies barriers such as limited funding and resources, challenges in accessing services and communication difficulties. It also describes initiatives that appear to have successfully engaged service users and their carers in person-centred planning. Further research is needed into the long-term effects of person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs, notably to measure its effectiveness in enhancing their quality of life, while strategies to enable them to engage in person-centred planning need to be developed.

Learning Disability Practice. 25, 1, 30-35. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2021.e2163

Correspondence

a.martin@ucc.ie

Peer review

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

Conflict of interest

None declared

Permission

To reuse this article or for information about reprints and permissions, please contact permissions@rcni.com

Write for us

For information about writing for RCNi journals, contact writeforus@rcni.com

For author guidelines, go to rcni.com/writeforus

RCNi Learning

For related learning modules, go to rcnilearning.com

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more