title: A health advocacy intervention for adolescents with intellectual disability: a cluster randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Adolescents with intellectual disability experience poorer heath than their peers in the general population, partially due to communication barriers and knowledge gaps in their health history. This study aimed to test a health intervention package against usual care for a range of health promotion and disease detection outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A parallel-group cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with Australian adolescents with intellectual disability living in the community. Randomization occurred at school level. The intervention package consisted of classroom-based health education, a hand-held personalized health record, and a health check. Evidence of health promotion, disease prevention, and case-finding activities were extracted from general practitioners' records for 12 months post-intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical data was available for 435 of 592 (73.5%) participants from 85 schools. Adolescents allocated to receive the health intervention were more likely to have their vision (odds ratio [OR] 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-6.1) and hearing (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.0-7.3) tested, their blood pressure checked (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.6-3.7), and weight recorded (OR 4.8; 95% CI 3.1-7.6). There was no difference between health intervention and usual care for identification of new diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The school-based intervention package increased healthcare activity in adolescents with intellectual disability living in the community.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mater Research Institute-UQ, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lennox
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mater Research Institute-UQ, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Lyn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McPherson
authors.affiliation: Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bain
authors.affiliation: Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Callaghan
authors.affiliation: School of Learning & Professional Studies, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carrington
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mater Research Institute-UQ, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.|UQ Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Ware
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010174:Pamphlets; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D011793:Queensland; D012572:School Health Services