scholarly journals Promoting Healthy Aging of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-251
Author(s):  
Anne E. Roll ◽  
Barbara J. Bowers

This qualitative case study sought to examine an innovative community outreach nursing program designed to promote healthy aging for more than 250 individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities living in the community. We analyzed 10 in-depth interviews, one focus group, and various documents using thematic analysis. We researched why the program emerged and found the reasons to be improving the communication with primary care providers, providing person-centered health care, and building on and contributing to existing community-based programs. Findings on what the daily work of community outreach nurses with individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities entailed, included person-centered health education, advocacy for the safe return home, support for staff to understand that health issues can lead to behavior changes, and enabling social participation. This case study may inspire further research or help others develop similar programs.

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012261
Author(s):  
Jessica Kiarashi ◽  
Juliana VanderPluym ◽  
Christina L. Szperka ◽  
Scott Turner ◽  
Mia T. Minen ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo review the contemporary issues of healthcare disparities in Headache Medicine with regard to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geography and propose solutions for addressing these disparities.MethodsAn internet and PubMed search was performed and literature was reviewed for key concepts underpinning disparities in Headache Medicine. Content was refined to areas most salient to our goal of informing the provision of equitable care in headache treatment through discussions with this group of 16 experts from a range of headache subspecialties.ResultsTaken together, a multitude of factors including racism, socioeconomic status and insurance status and geographical disparities contribute to the inequities that exist within the healthcare system when treating headache disorders. Interventions such as improving public education, advocacy, optimizing telemedicine, engaging in community outreach to educate primary care providers, training providers in cultural sensitivity and competence and implicit bias, addressing health literacy and developing recruitment strategies to increase representation of underserved groups within headache research are proposed as solutions to ameliorate disparities.ConclusionNeurologists have a responsibility to provide and deliver equitable care to all. It is important that disparities in the management of headache disorders are identified and addressed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S31-S32 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Hegerl ◽  
E. Arensman ◽  
C. van Audenhove ◽  
T. Baader ◽  
R. Gusmão ◽  
...  

The community-based 4-level-intervention concept developed within the “European Alliance against Depression” (http://www.eaad.net/) combines two important aims: to improve the care and treatment of patients with depression and to prevent suicidal behavior. It has been shown to be effective concerning the prevention of suicidal behavior [1–4] and is worldwide the most broadly implemented community-based intervention targeting depression and suicidal behavior. The 4-level intervention concept comprises training and support of primary care providers (level 1), a professional public relation campaign (level 2), training of community facilitators (teacher, priests, geriatric caregivers, pharmacists, journalists) (level 3), and support for self-help of patients with depression and for their relatives (level 4). In order to deepen the understanding of factors influencing the effectiveness of the intervention, a systematic implementation research and process analysis was performed within the EU-funded study “Optimizing Suicide Prevention Programs and Their Implementation in Europe” (http://www.ospi-europe.com/; 7th Framework Programme) [5]. These analyses were based on data from four intervention and four control regions from four European countries. In addition to intervention effects on suicidal behaviour, a variety of intermediate outcomes (e.g. changes in attitude or knowledge in different populations) were considered. Strong synergistic as well as catalytic effects were identified as a result of being active simultaneously at four different levels. Predictable and unpredictable obstacles to a successful implementation of such community-based programs will be discussed. Via the EAAD, the intervention concept and materials (available in eight different languages) are offered to interested region in and outside of Europe.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-179
Author(s):  
Ulrich Hegerl ◽  
Ella Arensman ◽  
Elisabeth Kohls

Background: Depression is a prevalent and severe disorder and a major cause for attempted and completed suicides in Europe. Objectives: The community-based 4-level-intervention concept developed within the “European Alliance against Depression” (EAAD; www.eaad.net) combines two important objectives:  to improve the care and treatment of patients with depression and to prevent suicidal behavior. Methods: The EAAD community-based 4-level intervention comprises training and support of primary care providers (level 1), a professional public awareness  campaign (level 2), training of community facilitators (teachers, priests, geriatric care givers, pharmacists, journalists) (level 3), and support for self-help of persons suffering from depression and for their relatives (level 4). Results: Several studies evaluated different aspects of the 4-level community-based intervention concept over the past years and showed a significant reduction in suicidal behavior and various changes in intermediate outcomes (e.g. changes in attitude or knowledge in different populations). Systematic process evaluation was helpful to identify several predictable and unpredictable obstacles to a successful implementation of such community-based programs as well as synergistic and catalytic effects.Conclusions: The EAAD community-based interventionhas been shown to be effective concerning the prevention of suicidal behavior and is the most broadly implemented community-based intervention targeting depression and suicidal behavior world-wide. Via the EAAD and partners from currently 22 countries from in- and outside of Europe, the intervention concept and materials (available in many different languages) are offered to interested regions.  


2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Hoover ◽  
Marc A. Markell ◽  
Paulette Wagner

The experiences of persons with developmental disabilities (DD) in two northern-tier states were studied on an exploratory basis. Overall, the analysis reveals that caregivers in residential facilities believed that persons with DD (primarily global cognitive disabilities) benefit from the same grief processing rituals as other individuals. Some conflicting attitudes were revealed, however. Specifically, many respondents expressed a sense that caregivers (or family members) “know best” when individuals with disabilities prove “ready” to experience the activities and ritual surrounding loved ones' deaths. In addition, many respondents argued that clients with cognitive disabilities ought to be educated ahead of time as to what happens during the death and dying process. Primary care providers reported very few overt behavioral changes, though four clients in 10 were observed to cry more frequently (for more than 1 month) and about one-fifth reportedly experienced changes in sleep/wake patterns. Initial evidence emerged that staff training patterns varied by facility, not with years of service.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-68
Author(s):  
Paul B. Dressler ◽  
Teresa K. Nguyen ◽  
Eric J. Moody ◽  
Sandra L. Friedman ◽  
Laura Pickler

Abstract Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often experience difficulties with successful transition from pediatric to adult healthcare. A consultative Transition Clinic for youth with IDD was piloted as a quality improvement project, and assessed the engagement of primary care providers (PCPs) for transition planning after patients were seen in clinic. Although many PCPs found the clinic and resources useful, individual and systemic barriers often prohibited them from participating in transition planning for this patient population. These findings highlight systemic barriers that need to be addressed to ensure successful transition, as well as the need for a specialized Transition Clinic with involvement of specialists with expertise in IDD, such as Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, to assist throughout transition process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Kelly D. Rosenberger ◽  
Heidi Olson ◽  
Martin MacDowell ◽  
Valerie Gruss

Objective: The number of primary care providers has not kept pace with the increasing number of underserved rural populations placing unprecedented demands on the healthcare system and the gap is expected to widen with shortages projected to increase across the United States. Given the urgent need to grow and expand the number of trained diverse primary care providers in rural communities, an innovative sustainable program was implemented to recruit and train diverse rural advanced practice nurses. Building on the successful rural medical and rural pharmacy educational programs at the UIC Health Sciences Campus in Rockford, a rural nursing program with interprofessional curriculum was designed and refined to enable nursing students along with two other professions to develop appreciation, insight, and knowledge of rural healthcare and health disparities in a variety of rural settings as part of an interprofessional team.Methods: A mixed-methods program evaluation approach utilized both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate program satisfaction and inform ongoing program refinement.Results: Students indicated positive responses to this interprofessional course of study. Continued development and refinement of the curriculum is planned to train the future rural healthcare workforce.Conclusions: Students from three health sciences colleges benefitted from the IPEC program with confirmed satisfaction in interprofessional rural education and collaborative practice. The addition of a rural nursing program merits continuation with modification and expansion to prepare the future rural interprofessional healthcare workforce.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody Blessing Ng ◽  
Malvina Klag ◽  
Carrie Mazoff ◽  
Samantha Sacks ◽  
Chantal Czerednikow ◽  
...  

Purpose There is inadequate health care for patients with developmental disabilities (DD), due to a number of systemic issues. This case study describes the establishment of a medical-dental clinic in Montréal, Québec for adults with DD. The purpose of this paper is to describe the model of interdisciplinary care based on best practices, as an example to encourage a growing community of trained health professionals to serve this population. Design/methodology/approach Interviews with all the clinic staff and leadership were conducted on-site at the clinic, followed by document review and discussions with an embedded researcher in the organization. Findings The clinic was established through a series of events that led to public and government interest to act, the timely emergence of major donors, and bringing together several dedicated individuals and organizations. The core team engaged in consultation with clinics, followed by extensive billing analyses and iterative process mapping as a learning organization. Prior to patient visits, the clinic conducted detailed intake processes to adequately plan for each patient interaction. Desensitization visits were undertaken to improve patient tolerance for examination and treatment. The continual collection of data fed into an evaluation framework to facilitate continuous improvement and articulate a model for replication. Originality/value To the best of the authors knowledge, there is not a clinic of this nature serving this population in Canada. This work can serve to inform the efforts of other care providers looking to create a medical – dental home for this population.


2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Greene ◽  
Judith H. Hibbard ◽  
Valerie Overton

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