Engagement in retirement: an evaluation of the effect of Active Mentoring on engagement of older adults with intellectual disability in mainstream community groups

Psychosocial interventions for older people with intellectual disabilities and the role of support staff: A systematic review

Background

The life expectancy of people with intellectual disabilities has increased. The implications of ageing have resulted in changes in their support needs and challenges to support staff. Access to evidence based strategies for support staff providing care to elderly with intellectual disabilities remains scarce. A systematic review was conducted to provide an overview of available psychosocial interventions.

Methods

Four databases were searched and assessed according to the PRISMA guidelines. A narrative, integrative method of analysis was conducted to synthesise quantitative and qualitative data.

Results

The 36 studies included in the review reported on interventions aimed at either identifying and meeting the needs or perceptions of older individuals or at improving their behaviour and skills. Furthermore, the role of support staff in the implementation of interventions was either active, assisting or undefined.

Conclusions

This overview of studies could contribute to the existing body of knowledge and help to optimise psychosocial support for a growing population.

A scoping review to characterize bridging tasks in the literature on aging with disability

Background

Bridging involves improving knowledge sharing and collaboration across different fields, such as aging and disability. The objectives of this review were to describe: 1) the contexts where bridging has occurred in relation to delivery of health services for adults aging with neurological or developmental conditions; and 2) characterize and map bridging tasks, stakeholders involved, and outcomes discussed in peer-reviewed literature.

Methods

Seven databases were searched around the core concepts of “bridging,” “aging,” and “disability.” In total, 10,819 articles were screened with 49 meeting the inclusion criteria of discussing aging with developmental or neurological disability, explicitly describing bridging tasks, published in English and a peer-reviewed publication. Bibliographic information, sample characteristics, and data on bridging was extracted and included in the qualitative synthesis.

Results

Intellectual and/or Developmental disabilities were the most studied population (76% of articles), and most articles were published in the United States (57%). Twenty-two bridging tasks were identified, and categorized into three domains: health and social service delivery (e.g., care coordination tasks), policy (e.g., policy change), and research and training (e.g., mentoring). Stakeholders involved ranged from health care professionals to policy makers and organizations in aging and disability services.

Conclusions

The resulting matrix will assist in the specification of bridging in research and practice. Future work should evaluate specific models of bridging and their effects on health service delivery.

Transition to retirement and participation in mainstream community groups using active mentoring: a feasibility and outcomes evaluation with a matched comparison group

BACKGROUND

This paper reports on the feasibility and outcomes of a transition to retirement programme for older adults with disability. Without activities and social inclusion, retirees with disability are likely to face inactivity, isolation and loneliness.

METHODS

Matched intervention and comparison groups each consisted of 29 older individuals with disability. There were 42 men and 16 women with a mean age of 55.6 years While attending their individual mainstream community group 1 day per week, intervention group participants received support from community group members trained as mentors. We assessed participants' loneliness, social satisfaction, depression, life events, quality of life, community participation, social contacts, and work hours before and 6 months after joining a community group.

RESULTS

Twenty-five (86%) of the intervention group attended their community group weekly for at least 6 months. They increased their community participation, made an average of four new social contacts and decreased their work hours. Intervention participants were more socially satisfied post-intervention than comparison group members.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate that participation in mainstream community groups with support from trained mentors is a viable option for developing a retirement lifestyle for older individuals with disability.

What is talked about? Community living staff experiences of talking with older people with intellectual disability about dying and death

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to explore what community living staff talked about and did with people with intellectual disability (ID) to assist them to understand dying and death.

METHOD

Guided by grounded theory methodology, focus groups and one-to-one interviews were conducted with 22 staff who had talked about any topic relating to dying and death with their clients.

RESULTS

There was little evidence that staff talked with, or did things with clients to assist understanding of the end of life, both prior to and after a death. Prior to death staff assisted clients in a limited way to understand about determining wishes in preparation for death, and what dying looks like by observance of its passage. Following a death staff offered limited assistance to clients to understand the immutability of death, and how the dead can be honoured with ritual, and remembered.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings have implications for why people with ID have only partial understanding of the end of life, the staff skills required to support clients' understanding, and when conversations about the end of life should occur.

Mentors' experiences of using the Active Mentoring model to support older adults with intellectual disability to participate in community groups

BACKGROUND

Social inclusion is a widely acknowledged goal; who is best positioned to provide support and how support is delivered are key questions. Using Active Mentoring training, members of community groups mentored a person with intellectual disability and supported their inclusion in that group.

METHODS

Interviews with 14 mentors explored their experiences of supporting a previously unknown person with intellectual disability to participate in their community group.

FINDINGS

The core theme was No Different From Us. Mentors saw beyond the disability, they valued others, were community leaders, and had intrinsic qualities. With some basic orientation to the task, mentors were able to support the inclusion of their mentee in the group.

CONCLUSION

Community members are willing to support people with intellectual disability to join their community groups. The Active Mentoring training is one way of harnessing the goodwill of community groups and their members to include people with intellectual disability to participate on an individual basis in community groups.