Contextual factors influencing knowledge sharing and application in the care and support for people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID‐19 pandemic, support workers and health professionals caring for and supporting people with intellectual disabilities (ID) required new knowledge on, for example, treatment and infection prevention. ID care organizations had to quickly share up‐to‐date knowledge and encourage its application. This study explored the contextual factors influencing knowledge sharing and application in the care and support for people with ID, contrasted their relevance prior to and during the pandemic, and compared the relevance of these factors according to support workers and health professionals. In 2021, 160 Dutch professionals working with people with ID completed an online survey, with 69 being support workers and 91 being health professionals. For most of the participants, the contextual factors known to be relevant for knowledge sharing and application prior to the pandemic (e.g., the leadership of professionals, user‐friendliness of interventions) also helped them to process knowledge during the pandemic. These factors were rated equally or as being even more important (e.g., “Practice leadership of management” and “Office arrangements and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems”). Moreover, support workers and health professionals rated factors such as the available capacity of employees and office arrangements and ICT systems differently. The findings provide initial evidence that during a health crisis like the COVID‐19 pandemic, both the role and importance of contextual factors influencing knowledge sharing and application in the care and support for people with ID partially differ from prior to the pandemic.

Knowledge management in the care for people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…At the organizational level, there are approximately 170 service organizations across the Netherlands for people with mild to profound ID. Direct care and support are provided by professionals from multiple disciplines such as care staff, psychologists, and (para)medics (Kersten et al, 2023). Several academic research departments and care-provider organizations set up partnerships in Academic Collaboratives (ACs).…”

“…Furthermore, by tapping into each other's expertise, knowledge can be co-created (Embregts et al, 2020). Previous research showed that the contextual factors relevant for knowledge sharing and application before the pandemic (e.g., the leadership of professionals and user-friendliness of interventions) also played an important role in processing knowledge during the pandemic (Kersten et al, 2023). For example, a registry was launched for COVID-19 among people with ID, which was a joint initiative of an AC and the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sports in the Netherlands (Koks-Leensen et al, 2023).…”

“…During the COVID‐19 pandemic, the urgent need for new knowledge and scientific evidence to support decision‐making and everyday practice was acute in ID care organizations. For example, on treatment and infection prevention (Kersten et al, 2023). People in long‐term care, such as people with ID, are especially vulnerable to COVID‐19 as a result of chronic health problems (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, and respiratory problems) that can lead to an increased risk of infection and mortality (de Winter et al, 2012; Fang et al, 2020; Flygare Wallen et al, 2018; Hosking et al, 2016; Hsieh et al, 2014; McCarron et al, 2013; Sayers et al, 2013; World Health Organization, 2020a).…”

“…At the start of the pandemic, little was known about the impact of COVID‐19 on the health and care of people with ID, causing uncertainty about how the Dutch ID‐care sector should respond appropriately (Cuypers et al, 2020). A myriad of interorganizational knowledge production and sharing activities were set up rapidly and new collaborations emerged (Embregts et al, 2020), influencing knowledge sharing and application compared to prior the pandemic (Kersten et al, 2023).…”

“…In the Dutch ID‐care sector, knowledge processes are part of a multidisciplinary system of different knowledge bases (Kersten et al, 2023). From a knowledge management perspective, actors can be roughly divided into three stakeholder groups: knowledge producers, intermediaries, and knowledge users (Mareeuw et al, 2015; Meyer, 2010; Smedlund, 2006).…”