Evaluating the written information about COVID-19 provided to people with learning disabilities
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Evaluating the written information about COVID-19 provided to people with learning disabilities

Kimya Yausaman Toussi MSc student (caring for young people and children with complex needs), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Kumaresan Cithambaram Assistant professor, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand that people with learning disabilities are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than the general population

  • To learn about the importance of providing accessible public health information to this population to reduce their risk of infection

  • To appreciate the importance of including people with learning disabilities when developing accessible information

Evidence shows that people with learning disabilities are at higher risk of contracting and dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population. Therefore, it is important for organisations to provide appropriate and accessible public health information to this population to reduce their risk of infection and to support them to make informed healthcare decisions. This article details a literature review that was undertaken to evaluate the information provided to people with learning disabilities about COVID-19 and its vaccinations. A web search was conducted to identify relevant easy read documents and seven documents from organisations in various regions were selected for inclusion in the review. The accessibility of each document was evaluated using three criteria: text, colour and image. Most of the documents examined were consistent with the guidance and recommendations for easy read information but several discrepancies were also identified. The findings of this literature review demonstrate the importance of including people with learning disabilities when developing accessible information.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2022.e2176

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@kcithambaram

Correspondence

kumaresan.cithambaram@dcu.ie

Conflict of interest

None declared

Toussi KY, Cithambaram K (2022) Evaluating the written information about COVID-19 provided to people with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2022.e2176

Acknowledgement

This project was funded by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, under the research studentship scheme

Published online: 24 February 2022

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