Staffs' knowledge and perceptions of working with women with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems.
Frontline staff say domestic violence, shaky relationships, and broken routines put women with ID at mental health risk, and community outings are the best buffer.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hilton et al. (2010) ran focus groups with staff who support women with intellectual disability. They asked what puts these women at risk for mental health problems and what keeps them safe. No numbers were collected; the team simply wrote down the staff stories.
What they found
Staff named three big risks: domestic violence, rocky relationships, and daily routines that fall apart. They said the best shield is getting the woman out into the community—shops, clubs, church—on her own terms.
How this fits with other research
Malone (1999) built a 56-item survey that flags staff stress in residential homes. Hilton et al. (2010) kept the same topic but switched to open talk, so the two pieces stack rather than clash.
Lunsky (2003) already showed women with ID report more depression than men and pointed to abuse and poor support. Hilton et al. (2010) echo those flags but add ‘unmet daily expectations’ as a fresh clue.
Porter et al. (2008) proved staff can run group CBT that actually cuts depression scores. Hilton et al. (2010) supply the roadmap—tackle violence, build relationships, boost community trips—that trainers can bake into those CBT groups.
Why it matters
You now have a staff-generated checklist: ask about partner violence, map the woman’s social web, and schedule real community outings. Use it during intake, team huddles, or caregiver training. Pair it with the CBT protocol from Porter et al. (2008) and you have both prevention and treatment ready to go.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AIM: There is a growing evidence of the physical and mental health inequalities in people with intellectual disability (ID) although less has been written concerning the mental health of women with ID (International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities). This is compared with the substantive literature published within mainstream psychiatry on gender. The aim of this study was to explore a range of health and social care staffs' knowledge and perceptions of caring for women with ID who have mental health problems focusing upon risk and resilient/protective factors. METHOD: A qualitative methodology was used. Eight focus groups were conducted with hospital, community and residential staff across one region of the UK. The focus groups were audiotaped and the transcriptions were subjected to a thematic content analysis using Newell & Burnard's framework. FINDINGS: Six inter-related risk factors were identified by the participants as potential causes for the women with ID to develop a mental illness and these were: having an ID and being female, unmet expectations, dysfunctional family upbringing, unstable relationships/loss of children, domestic violence and negative life experiences. Few of the participants acknowledged hormonal issues as a risk factor. Resilient/protective factors included being proactive, greater community participation, early recognition and mental health maintenance. CONCLUSION: These results are discussed in light of current developments and policy within mainstream psychiatric gender approaches. Greater recognition of a proactive health approach for both staff and women with an ID is recommended.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2010 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2009.01211.x