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Evidence summaries

Health Services for Persons with Intellectual Disability

There is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of organisational interventions targeting the health services of persons with an intellectual disability and concurrent physical or mental problems. Level of evidence: "D"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 7 studies with a total of 347 subjects. The included studies investigated interventions dealing with the mental health problems of persons with an intellectual disability; none focused on physical health problems. Four studies assessed the effect of organisational interventions on behavioural problems for persons with an intellectual disability, three assessed care giver burden, and three assessed the costs associated with the interventions. None of the included studies reported data on the effect of organisational interventions on adverse events. Most studies were assessed as having low risk of bias.It is uncertain whether interventions that increase the frequency and intensity of delivery or outreach treatment decrease behavioural problems for persons with an intellectual disability (two and one trials respectively, very low certainty evidence). Behavioural problems were slightly decreased by community-based specialist behavioural therapy (one trial, low certainty evidence). Increasing the frequency and intensity of service delivery probably makes little or no difference to care giver burden (MD 0.03, 95% CI -3.48 to 3.54, two trials, moderate certainty evidence). It is uncertain whether outreach treatment makes any difference for care giver burden (one trial, very low certainty evidence).

    References

    • Balogh R, McMorris CA, Lunsky Y et al. Organising healthcare services for persons with an intellectual disability. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;(4):CD007492. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords