Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
British Journal of Learning Disabilities
Volume
52
Issue
3
First Page
549
Last Page
561
Publisher
Wiley
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
71464
Funders
Western Australian Department of Health
Abstract
Background: People with intellectual disabilities living in group homes often have complex health needs, are high health service users and need support from their service provider to access health services. In Australia, little is known about the types and amounts of these supports. Methods: A case study was conducted on a large Western Australian disability provider of group homes to 160 people with intellectual disability. Over an 18-month period, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study quantified health service use in hospital- and community-based settings, ways by which the person was supported to access health care and the impact on other people supported by the provider. Economic costs of supporting access to health services were estimated. Findings: Overall, the disability provider supported 160 people in accessing health services an average of 23 times each (n = 3617, median = 20, interquartile range = 10–33) over the 18 months. Support included staff attending with the person (96%), following up with guardian/decision-maker (50%), additional resourcing via overtime or staff backfills (6%) and transport (94%). The average cost of supporting one health visit was estimated at $78.51 AUD (2021). Impact on the person's household included loss of opportunity for housemates (30%), reduced supervision within the home (79%) and longer timeframes to complete care needs (32%). The impact of COVID-19 restrictions saw a reduction in allied and mental health service use that did not return to prepandemic levels following the cessation of restrictions. Primary care, specialist, outpatient, pathology and emergency service use was also lower in the postrestriction period compared to the prepandemic period. Conclusions: For people living in group homes, the disability provider plays an essential role in supporting health service access, primarily through the provision of support staff and transport. The change in health service utilisation following the COVID-19 restriction period indicates that altered health system priorities can potentially exacerbate access inequality for people with intellectual disability.
DOI
10.1111/bld.12601
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Skoss, R., Chivers, P., Arendts, G., Bulsara, C., Vithiatharan, R., & Codde, J. (2024). What supports are people with intellectual disability living in group homes provided to access health care? A case study. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52(3), 549-561. https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12601