Dave Atkinson
Engage with families to promote physical activity for people with autism
Parents' own attitudes, beliefs and engagement in exercise are critical, study finds
Review finds unique relational skills are at the core of learning disability nursing
Australian researchers advocate person-centred care between nurses and service users
Inclusive mainstream approaches to weight management benefits some service users
Small-scale study focuses on community-based healthy eating groups
GPs unsure about some aspects of antipsychotropic medicines management
Study suggests general practitioners liaise with learning disability nurses when prescribing
Study finds shortfall in reasonable adjustments across CCGs and NHS trusts in England
Research suggests people with learning disabilities remain invisible in some NHS services
Recruitment and retention: staff survey reveals insights into crisis facing services
Study shows co-production and delivering person-centred care are good for staff too
Making sense of health-related quality of life in people with Down’s syndrome
Survey of almost 200 families identifies major social factors affecting daily life
More evidence needed on mental health treatments for people with severe learning disabilities
Latest research from the nursing and medical journals
Specialist nursing input improves hospital care for children with learning disabilities
Latest research from the nursing and medical journals
Supporting people with learning disabilities to find work can promote better health
Latest research from the nursing and medical journals
Scottish survey reveals the scale of social isolation and loneliness
More than 70% of young adults with learning disabilities reported feeling lonely ‘a lot of the time’, according to a campaigning organisation
Long-term conditions management
Systematic review finds that people with learning disabilities were less likely to access health screening and preventive healthcare such as immunisations
Secure settings: what makes for a good outcome when people move on from inpatient provision?
Study finds need to establish specialist forensic support teams to ensure best possible outcomes for offenders who have behaviours that challenge
Study raises questions about clinical outcomes associated with positive behaviour support training
Of services where staff underwent training only 30% produced positive behaviour support plans that included all essential components
Psychotropic medication often given in the absence of multidisciplinary assessments
Research raises concerns about a lack of guidelines and review of prescriptions
Insights into the scale of co-morbidities in people with learning disabilities
A study has discovered that the majority of people with learning disabilities are living with two or more long-term conditions
Exposure to health inequalities as a measure of outcomes
Earlier this year, the authors, all members of the UK Learning Disability Consultant Nurse Network, completed development of the Health Equalities Framework. This framework was developed after a review of evidence for health inequalities among service users indicated that outcome measures should be improved across all health and social care services. It explains why the framework should inform the commissioning of services for people with learning disabilities.
Learning disability nursing: how to refocus the profession
It has been found in recent years that the healthcare needs of people with learning disabilities have not always been fully met. The authors suggest that this situation can be improved if specialist learning disability nurses are more involved in mainstream services. They argue that learning disability nurses should focus their efforts on health, rather than social care activities, and suggest that there are further groups of people in society who, while not having a learning disability, could benefit from the interventions of this skilled professional group.