title: Health professionals working effectively with support workers to enhance the quality of support for adults with intellectual disabilities: A meta-ethnography.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Paid support workers are often central to the quality of life of adults with intellectual disabilities. Health and social care professionals increasingly carry out interventions indirectly through those support workers and therefore need to understand how best to collaborate.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article synthesizes findings from the qualitative research of others investigating health professionals' work with support staff. From sixty-two articles retrieved from a database and journal search, seven met inclusion criteria and a meta-ethnographic synthesis allowed construction of an interpretive line-of-argument.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen themes within the articles were synthesized into three over-archingconstructs, suggesting that professionals should collaborate by providing effective leadership, working in partnership with support workers and managers and recognizing the influence of organizational structures and context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As these constructs seem reflective of important components of teamwork, a "line-of-argument" is proposed that it could be helpful for professionals to view themselves as part of a "team" with support workers.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3219-4308
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.affiliation: Glenside Hospital, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007857:Leadership; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: health and social care professionals; intellectual disabilities; metaethnography; qualitative research synthesis; support workers