Improving the health of people with intellectual disabilities: outcomes of a health screening programme after 1 year.
A single ID-specific health screen doubles the number of new health problems found and fixed within a year.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a one-year randomized trial with adults who have intellectual disability.
Half got a single, ID-tailored health screen plus usual care. The other half got only usual care.
Doctors then tracked how many new health needs were spotted and fixed in each group.
What they found
The screened group had twice as many new health problems found.
They also had far more of those problems actually treated within the year.
One visit tailored to ID doubled detection and follow-through.
How this fits with other research
Hatton et al. (2004) already showed adults with ID carry higher rates of epilepsy, skin and sensory problems. The new trial proves a simple screen can catch these gaps.
Van Hanegem et al. (2014) later copied the idea in Singapore. Free on-site heart checks pushed screening uptake from about 20 % to over 90 %, matching the UK gains.
Hastings et al. (2002) saw rising illness in older adults with ID yet suspected under-detection. S-Eisenhower et al. (2006) now supply the fix: screen once, act early.
Why it matters
If you support adults with ID, schedule an annual health screen built for their needs. One visit finds twice as many treatable issues and gets them fixed. Use the data to justify the hour of nursing time—it saves hospital trips later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have a higher level of health needs, a higher level of which is unmet, compared with the general population. Health screening can detect unmet health needs, but it is unknown whether it effects beneficial health outcomes in the longer term. People with IDs are reliant on health management by proxy and there are many potential access barriers that may prevent health needs identified at screening from subsequently being met. This study aims to determine whether health gains can be detected 1 year after a health screening programme specific to the needs of adults with IDs. METHODS: A total of 50 participants offered the health screen intervention were individually matched for gender, age and level of IDs with 50 control participants who received standard treatment only. Outcome measures after 1 year were semi-structured review of medical case notes, and semi-structured assessment with the people with IDs and their carer. RESULTS: During the 1-year period, the incidence of health need detection was more than twice as great for intervention, compared with control participants (mean number of new needs was 4.80 compared with 2.26; P < 0.001), and the level of met new health needs was greater (mean of 3.56 compared with 2.26; P = 0.001). The level of met health promotion needs was also greater (P < 0.001), and more health monitoring needs were met for intervention compared with control participants (P = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate sustained benefits in health outcomes from a clinical intervention for adults with IDs compared with standard treatment alone. Its routine implementation is feasible, and would reduce health inequalities.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2006 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00824.x