Health issues of older people with intellectual disability in group homes
Journal article
Bowers, Barbara, Webber, Ruth and Bigby, Christine. (2014). Health issues of older people with intellectual disability in group homes. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability. 39(3), pp. 261-269. https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2014.936083
Authors | Bowers, Barbara, Webber, Ruth and Bigby, Christine |
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Abstract | Background This paper explores how group home staff in Victoria, Australia, responded to residents with an intellectual disability (ID) as residents developed age-related health conditions. Method The analysis was based on a longitudinal study that followed 17 ageing group home residents over a 3-year period. Eighty-three interviews were conducted with 30 group home staff in 17 group homes. Dimensional analysis, a variant of grounded theory, guided data collection and analysis. Results Findings revealed that the organisations all had systems in place to address health issues. However, the results also suggest an inability of staff to differentiate between significant health conditions and normal age-related changes, thus contributing to delays in care for serious medical conditions. Conclusions Lack of knowledge about normal ageing and an absence of organisational policies influence timeliness of diagnosis and treatment for people with ID. Group home staff could be more effective advocates for older residents, leading to improvements in health outcomes, if they had basic knowledge about normal ageing and symptoms of common age-related illnesses and if group home agencies provided clearer guidance to their staff. The study has implications for staff education and organisational policy development for group homes. |
Keywords | intellectual disability; ageing; group home; health |
Year | 2014 |
Journal | Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability |
Journal citation | 39 (3), pp. 261-269 |
Publisher | Routledge |
ISSN | 1366-8250 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2014.936083 |
PubMed ID | 25750581 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-84905669961 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC4348046 |
Open access | Published as green open access |
Page range | 261-269 |
Funder | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health | |
Research Group | School of Arts |
Author's accepted manuscript | License File Access Level Open |
Publisher's version | License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 22 Jul 2014 |
ARC Funded Research | This output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 |
Grant ID | UL1TR000427 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8q864/health-issues-of-older-people-with-intellectual-disability-in-group-homes
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Author's accepted manuscript
AM_Bowers_2014_Health_issues_of_older_people_with.pdf | |
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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