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Determining Frailty in People With IntellectualDisabilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic

FESTEN, Dederieke A M
SCHOUFOUR, Josje D
HILGENKAMP, Thessa I M
OPPEWAL, Alyt
2021

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Background: Across the world, frailty is part of the guidelines that are being developed in the COVID-19 pandemic for triaging in crisis situations. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) evaluates the ability to perform daily tasks to identify frail individuals, potentially excluding those from intensive care (IC) treatment. Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience varying degrees of dependence, distinct from age-related physical deterioration. Using the CFS for triage in crisis situations could potentially unjustiably exclude individuals with ID from IC treatment. Our objective was to compare the classication of individuals with ID
into different frailty categories based on the CFS and the well-studied ID-frailty index and to determine suitability of CFS for evaluation of frailty in individuals with ID during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Methods: This retrospective analysis of the observational healthy aging and intellectual disabilities (HA-ID) study included 982 individuals with ID of ≥50 years, who were classied according to the CFS and the ID-frailty index.


Results: Of the cohort of 982 older adults with ID, 626 (63.7%) would be classifed as moderately frail (CFS score 6), but 92% of this group is not moderately frail according to the ID-frailty index. Furthermore, 199 (20.3%) would be classied as at least severely frail (CFS score 7–9), but 74.9% of this group is not severely frail according to the ID-frailty index. Overall, 730 out of 982 (74.9%) individuals would be incorrectly classied by the CFS as too frail to have a good probability of survival. The ID-frailty index predicts mortality better than the CFS in individuals with ID.


Conclusions: Our results show the CFS is not suitable to evaluate frailty in individuals with ID, with potential dramatic consequences for triage and decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic. We strongly recommend using the ID-frailty index when assessing probability of survival for individuals with ID.

What Constitutes Good Quality End-of-Life Care? Perspectives of People With Intellectual Disabilities and Their Families

CITHAMBARM, Kumaresan
DUFFY, Mel
COURTNEY, Eileen
2021

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Background: Due to increased life expectancy, just as with the general population, people with intellectual disabilities are experiencing, and dying from, chronic and life-limiting conditions. This has led to an increase in the need for end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities. However, there is limited evidence as to what constitutes good end-of-life care from the perspectives of people with intellectual disabilities and their family members.


Methods: The study reported here aimed to nd out the care needs of people with intellectual disabilities at the end of life in Ireland. A grounded theory approach was employed to explore the perspectives of the participants. After obtaining appropriate ethical approval, 19 semi-structured individual interviews were carried out with 11 people with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities and eight family members to collect data which was subsequently analyzed through constant comparative analysis.


Results: The views of the participants suggested that providing personal care while vulnerable and dying, being with and communicating with the dying person, and meeting their spiritual needs, were considered as being essential at the end of life for people with intellectual disabilities.


Conclusion: The fndings from this study have shown that people with intellectual disabilities can engage with those around them and demonstrate how they would like to be cared for, and discuss what would be considered as being good care at the end of life.

Integrated Emotion-Oriented Care for Older People With ID: Defining and Understanding Intervention Components of a Person-Centered Approach

THALEN, Marloes
VAN OORSOUW, Wietske M W J
VOLKERS, Karin M
TAMINIAU, Elsbeth F
EMBREGTS, Petri J C M
2021

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An increase in descriptive evidence regarding person-centered approaches for older people with intellectual disability (ID) is important, due to increased life expectancy and the present lack of sufficiently underpinned interventions. This is especially true of interventions designed to increase well-being and quality of life. A specific Dutch example is the Integrated Emotion-Oriented Care approach. Despite its status as a good practice, its effectiveness has not yet been proved, nor has descriptive evidence been made available. The primary aims of this qualitative study are to identify the intervention components, to provide demonstrative illustrations and to gain an in-depth understanding of the use of these components in the day-to-day support of older people with ID. A content analysis of five key documents was carried out. Five semi-structured interviews were then conducted with early adopters, followed by a concept mapping study with daily users. The final stage in the data collection process was a series of five focus-group interviews with experts and experienced support staff. The five intervention components of Integrated Emotion-Oriented Care for older people with ID have been systematically identified and described in detail in five narrative summaries drawn up in collaboration with early adopters, experts and experienced support staff. This study provides valuable insights that offer descriptive evidence for Integrated Emotion-Oriented Care in the care for older people with ID. Both implications and possible opportunities for future research are discussed.

Preliminary Findings From a Nationwide, Multicenter Mental Health Service for Adults and Older Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder and ID

HELVERSCHOU, Sissel Berge
BAKKEN, Trine Lise
BERGE, Heidi
BJØRGEN, Tale Gjertine
BOTHEIM, Henrik
HELLERUD, Jane Askeland
HELSET, Ingunn
ODDBJØRN, Hove
JOHANSEN, Per Anders
KILDAHL, Arvid Nikolai
LUDVIGSEN, Linn Beate
NYGAARD, Sissel
RYSSTAD, Anne
WIGAARD, Elisabeth
HOWLIN, Patricia
2020

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Background: The identification and treatment of psychiatric disorders in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and ID presents many challenges. We describe the development of a professional network, together with a standardized protocol for clinical assessment, designed to promote clinical competence and professional development in eight clinical centers responsible for providing mental health services to autistic individuals with ID across all four health regions of Norway. Specic aims to describe: (1) patterns of psychiatric and behavior problems in patients treated by the network, (2) patterns of change over time, and (3) the relationship between psychiatric disorders and behavior problems.


Method: A standardized protocol was used to assess individual progress in 132 patients (inpatients and outpatients) with autism and ID over 2 years (at referral (T1), after 1 year (T2), and after 2 years (T3)). Changes in psychiatric symptoms and behavior problems were assessed with the Psychopathology in Autism Checklist (PAC) and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC).


Results: Patients showed signicant (p < .001) improvements from T1 to T2 on the psychosis, depression and anxiety subscales of the PAC, but no signicant improvement on the obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) subscale. Improvements were maintained from T2 to T3. Patients showed signicant (p < .01) improvements on the ABC total score and on all ABC subscales except inappropriate speech from T1 to T2; these improvements were maintained from T2 to T3.


Discussion: The combination of a professional network and a standardized protocol for clinical assessment has promise as a strategy for improving professional competence and facilitating specialized mental health services for autistic individuals with ID and psychiatric disorders across an extensive geographical area.

The Significance of Person-Centered Care for Satisfaction With Care and Well-Being Among Informal Caregivers of Persons With Severe Intellectual Disability

HAKOBYAN, Liana
NIEBOER, Anna P
FINKEN߆GEL, Harry
CRAMM, Jane M
2019

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Person-centered care (PCC) delivery and co-creation of care (establishing productive patient-professional interaction) are expected to lead to better patient outcomes. Given the prominent role of informal caregivers in care delivery processes to persons with intellectual disabilities (PWID), they are expected to benefit from person-centered care (PCC) and co-creation of care as well. This study aims to identify the relationship between PCC, co-creation of care and outcomes among informal caregivers of PWID. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015 among informal caregivers of PWID (45.8% parents, 44.1% siblings, 10.1% other

family member). All PWID were living in residential homes of a long-term care organization in the Eastern part of the Netherlands. For every PWID, the most important informal caregiver was invited to participate. Nine hundred and forty-one invitations were sent out and 289 of them responded (31% response rate). Mean age of informal caregivers was 61.80 (SD 11.21; range 23–90) years old. About half of the respondents (55%) were female and 23% were single. Most of the respondents (83%) were providing informal care for more than 10 years and 29% provided informal care for 8 hours per week or more. Correlation analyses indicated that PCC and co-creation of care were positively related to informal caregivers’ satisfaction with care and their own well-being. Regression analyses showed that PCC is associated with satisfaction with care (β = 0.60, p < 0.001) and well-being (β = 0.22, p < 0.01) while controlling for background characteristics. Relational co-creation was also positively associated with satisfaction with care (β = 0.15, p < 0.01) and well-being (β = 0.20, p < 0.01). This study provided the first empirical evidence that PCC and co-creation of care matter for satisfaction with care and the well-being of informal caregivers of PWID.

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