Sensory Impairment in Adults With Intellectual Disabilities-An Exploration of the Awareness and Practices of Social Care Providers

The shift in the model of care for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), with an increased emphasis on inclusion, has resulted in their general health needs being met in community settings. This includes the assessment and treatment of vision and hearing. Community-based social care staff are well placed to ensure that sensory impairments (SI) are identified and managed as part of individualized care plans. The authors explored staff awareness of issues relating to SI. Topics included the identification of needs, the process of screening, impact of SI on quality of life, consequences of failing to identify needs, frequency of checks, barriers to effective identification, diagnosis and management of SI, advice seeking, and adaptations to practice. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with 17 staff informants providing direct social care services (residential and day) to adults with ID in a metropolitan area of Scotland. A thematic analysis of qualitative responses highlighted that responsibility, communication, further deterioration, and lack of accountability emerged as dominant themes. Indications suggest that these both precipitate and perpetuate problems in the identification and management of SI. A high expressed responsibility that might motivate best practice is undermined by a lack of accountability, and highlighted a gap in service provision that may result in the sensory health needs of this population being unmet.