The Role of Training in Improving Community Care Staff Awareness of Mental Health Problems in People with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Background Care staff play a key role in identifying individuals with intellectual disabilities and additional mental health problems. Yet, few receive training in mental health, and evidence about the effectiveness of training is scant. Materials and Methods A pre–post study is reported, using a mental health screen and a self‐report questionnaire to examine staff awareness of mental health problems and to measure whether training improved knowledge of psychopathology, attitudes towards mental health services and referral decisions. Results Prior to training, deficits in awareness were evident. The Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with a Developmental Disability (PAS‐ADD) Checklist detected significant psychopathology in approximately one‐third of the individuals judged to have no mental health problems according to staff. Four months after the delivery of training, significant improvements in knowledge, attitudes and referral decisions were observed. Conclusion Brief training interventions may improve awareness of mental health problems, but further research is needed to understand the referral process and to demonstrate the role of training in influencing actual staff behaviour.

Support workers' knowledge about dementia: a vignette study

“…Most made incorrect judgements about the meanings of some mental health symptoms, echoing Costello et al's (2007) findings. As with the findings of Whitehouse et al (2000) and Costello et al (2007), participants were influenced by individual changes, with early behavioural and mood changes generally going unrecognised as indicative of a mental health problem, while symptoms such as forgetfulness and disorientation led more readily to participants' judgement of dementia.…”

Counselling Support for People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Use of Narrative Therapy

“…However, this research is largely based upon the population of people with mild intellectual disability, and assessing the incidence of mental illness in people with more severe intellectual disabilities is difficult (Whitaker & Read, 2006). Service providers and family members may lack the necessary knowledge or information to accurately identify or recognise mental health issues (Costello, Bouras, & Davis, 2007), or how to refer individuals on for further assessment (Piachaud, 1999). This is in part because many of the symptoms of mental illness also occur with intellectual disability (Therapeutic Guidelines Limited, 2005).…”

Psychotropic medications and adults with intellectual disabilities: care staff perspectives

“…It is these care staff who are often responsible for making a psychological or psychiatric referral on behalf of their clients Glenwick, 1997, 2001;Moss et al, 2000;Costello et al, 2007). However, given that psychiatric treatment often results in the prescribing of psychotropic medications, there is a paucity of research into care staff experience of and understanding about these drugs, and their associated side-effects (Fretwell and Felce, 2007).…”

“…According to Costello et al (2007), it is essential for people with intellectual disabilities to have people to advocate for them, regarding mental health problems. Meanwhile, Raghavan and Patel (2010) emphasise the importance of carers having adequate information about such medications to advocate for their clients.…”