Injuries reported and recorded for adults with intellectual disabilities who live with paid support in Scotland: a comparison with Scottish adults in the general population

Evangelia Petropoulou, Janet Finlayson, Margaret Hay, Wendy Spencer, Richard Park, Hugh Tannock, Erin Galbraith, Jon Godwin, Dawn A. Skelton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Providers of supported living services to adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in the United Kingdom have procedures in place to monitor injuries; this provides opportunity to learn about the injuries being reported and recorded. The aim was to determine the incidence, causes and types of injuries experienced by 593 adults with intellectual disabilities who live with paid support in a 12-month period. Method: Injury data, collected via a standard electronic injury monitoring system, were compared with data collected for a matched sample of the general population in the same year. Results: The adults with intellectual disabilities experienced a higher rate of injury. Falls were the commonest cause of injury for both samples, but significantly more so for the adults with intellectual disabilities. Conclusions: The higher rate of injuries, particularly minor injuries, being reported suggests a culture of injury reporting and recording within these supported living services. Electronic injury monitoring is recommended for organizations providing supported living services for adults with intellectual disabilities.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)408–415
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Volume30
Issue number2
Early online date10 Feb 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2017

Keywords

  • Intellectual disabilities
  • injuries
  • falls

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