title: Assessing the health of older adults with intellectual disabilities: a user-led approach.
abstract: Older adults with intellectual disability are at increased risk of a wide range of health problems. Hitherto, methods to assess these problems have been healthcare-professional-led and largely based on traditional medical models. Following a literature review and focus group work we produced a user-led health assessment that was feasible and acceptable. The assessment was administered to 57 adults with a wide range of intellectual disability aged 40 years and over, living in the community. The assessment took a median of 21 minutes to administer and covered user-led themes of participation/ability, nutrition and hygiene/self-care. A principal component representing a user-led general health measure correlated positively with the number of health problems (rho = 0.54, p < 0.001) and the number of drugs (rho = 0.55, p < 0.001). Further studies using such user-led assessments are needed to assess whether they can have a wider application.
authors.affiliation: Down's Syndrome Scotland.
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fender
authors.forename: Lou
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marsden
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Starr
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010358:Patient Participation; D010808:Physical Examination; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012648:Self Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires