Background: People with learning disabilities have an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hearing loss. This study explored service users' and health professionals' perspectives and experiences of adopting minimally invasive diagnostic and screening devices, known as point-of-care testing (POCT) as a means of improving access…

Background: Bereavement is a universal experience, yet little research has explored the lived experience of bereavement for people with learning disability (PWLD). Materials and methods: Four PWLD were interviewed about their experience of bereavement. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Four themes were…

Background: The government alongside other health and social care organisation have identified the need to improve the care provided for people with learning disabilities. Materials and Methods: This service evaluation aimed to explore the experiences of people with learning disabilities and their carers who accessed community dental services…

Background: There is little research that specifically relates to fathers of adults with a learning disability despite the social expectation that fathers will provide a supportive role over the lifespan. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven fathers of adults with a learning disability to explore their roles, needs and…

The Confident Parenting group is a therapeutic group for parents of children with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, which is informed by the principles of behavioural theory and acceptance and commitment therapy. Parent's experiences of the group were elicited through participation in a large focus group which followed a…

Research evidence reveals that adults with learning disabilities who live in residential care facilities are being exposed to considerable variation in the standards of care they receive. High profile cases of substandard care have also raised concerns regarding the appropriateness of existing care provisions and practices. While attempts have…

This qualitative study aimed to add to the research on the self-concept of adults with mild learning disabilities and to generate a deeper understanding of their self-perceptions rather than draw generalised quantitative conclusions. Eight adults diagnosed with mild learning disabilities receiving support from a supported living project were…

Changes in the living circumstances of people with learning disabilities have seen responsibility for their health become the provenance of paid-and family-carers. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with three family-carers and ten paid-carers. Findings revealed that the role of these carers was undefined, leading to difficulty in…

This article reports on the results of a qualitative study (in-depth interviews) carried out in the United Kingdom as part of a larger (two-phased) study investigating the experiences, health and future perspectives of older parent carers (six mothers and two fathers) of offspring with learning disabilities over a prolonged period of time. The…

People with a learning disability face a number of challenges when seeking access to hospital care which are often distinct from those faced by the general population. Numerous statistics indicative of these challenges are represented in the academic literature. Previous research has suggested several reasons for the continued existence of these…

This literature review and primary qualitative research explores therapeutic role from the perspective of Community Learning Disability Nurses. Semi-structured interviews, based on Critical Incident Technique ("Psychol Bull", 51, 1954, 327), and descriptive phenomenological methodology were adopted to elicit data amenable to systematic…

Access to learning disability services in England is often governed by eligibility criteria. A semistructured questionnaire was completed by clinical psychologists in the north-west of England about service eligibility criteria and psychologists' role within the referral process to learning disability services. The survey highlighted both…