Comprehensive health assessments during de‐institutionalization: an observational study

Abstract

Background People with intellectual disability (ID) leaving institutions pass through a transition stage that makes them vulnerable to inadequate health care. They enter into community care under general practitioners (GPs) who are often untrained and inexperienced in their needs. Specifically designed health reviews may be of assistance to both them and their new GPs as they go through that phase. Methods This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a specially designed health review, the comprehensive health assessment program (CHAP) health review, in a group of adults as they transitioned out of the care of the last institution for people with ID in Tasmania. There were  residents reviewed by their GPs. Results The CHAP reviews picked up a number of health conditions and stimulated health promotion activities. Some of the findings were: a high number of abnormal Body Mass Indexes (  /  ), immunizations given (  /  ), vision impairment reported (  /  ), mental health issues recorded (  /  ) and skin abnormalities described (  /  ). There were  referrals made to other health professionals (Australian Hearing Service  , dentists  , optometrists  , psychiatrists  , neurologists  , ophthalmologist  , urologist  , ultrasound  , mammogram  , family planning  , physiotherapist  , continence nurse  and respiratory physician  ). These were in addition to various requests for pathology. Conclusions The CHAP health review was effective in identifying a number of health issues in the population of people with ID as they transitioned out of institutional care into the general community.

Screening for glucose intolerance and development of a lifestyle education programme for prevention of type 2 diabetes in a population with intellectual disabilities: the STOP Diabetes research project

“…Duplicates removed (n = 868) 4 articles reported on same study 2 articles reported on same study 108,115,116,132,138,141 ) and South Africa (n = 2 131,134 ). Primarily, the included studies were cross-sectional observational (n = 31 81,82,98,[100][101][102]104,106,[109][110][111]114,116,119,121,124,[126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135]137,139,142,143,145 ).…”

“…Primarily, the included studies were cross-sectional observational (n = 31 81,82,98,[100][101][102]104,106,[109][110][111]114,116,119,121,124,[126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135]137,139,142,143,145 ). The remaining studies involved retrospective database or medical records data (n = 22 [83][84][85][86][87][88][89]94,95,99,107,113,115,117,118,120,122,123,136,…”

GPs’ opinions of health assessment instruments for people with intellectual disabilities: a qualitative study

“…5,6 Applying health assessments by means of questionnaires, focusing on highly prevalent diseases for people with ID, have proven to be an effective method to detect health needs, and can play an important role in health monitoring and health promotion. [7][8][9][10][11] Research has shown increased disease detection, as well as an increase in prevention and health promotion activities. [7][8][9][10] Most patients with ID valued the use of health assessment instruments positively.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11] Research has shown increased disease detection, as well as an increase in prevention and health promotion activities. [7][8][9][10] Most patients with ID valued the use of health assessment instruments positively. [12][13][14][15][16] In residential care in the Netherlands, medical care for people with ID is often delivered by a specialist ID physician.…”

“…8,21 In another study, GPs preferred to be involved in the assessment directly, and not after referral by another physician. 22 However, health assessment instruments for people with ID are not yet commonly applied in the Netherlands.…”