Influencia del tipo de vivienda en la calidad de vida de las personas mayores con discapacidad intelectual o del desarrollo

A community living experience: Views of people with intellectual disability with extensive support needs, families, and professionals

BACKGROUND

Despite the benefits of community living for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and extensive support needs, they remain highly institutionalized.

AIMS

To qualitatively analyze the perceptions of people with ID, including those with extensive support needs, professionals, and family members six months after the implementation of 11 community homes for 47 people in different regions of Spain METHODS: Thematic analysis of 77 individual interviews conducted with 13 people with ID, 30 professionals and 34 family members was performed using Nvivo12.

RESULTS

Seven themes were found: (1) "the room as I like it", (2) "sometimes I don't obey", (3) "here I do a bit of everything", (4) "lots of people love me here", (5) "all thanks to them, who have helped me" (6) "I miss my mom", and (7) "I'm happy here".

IMPLICATIONS

Transitioning into the community has shown a clear positive change in emotional well-being, opportunities to participate in activities or exercise control over one's life. Nevertheless, certain restrictions were still present in people's lives, which significantly limit their right to independent living. While many of these restrictions may disappear, professional practices typical of a medical model can be recreated in services located in the community.

Community Living, Intellectual Disability and Extensive Support Needs: A Rights-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention

People with intellectual disability (ID) and extensive support needs experience poorer quality of life than their peers whose disability is not as severe. Many of them live in residential settings that limit community participation and prevent them from exercising control over their lives. This work analyzes the extent to which professional practices are aimed at promoting the right to community living for people with ID and extensive support needs, as well as the rights that are particularly linked to it, such as the right to habilitation and rehabilitation and the right to privacy. A specific questionnaire was designed and administered to 729 adults with intellectual disability (M = 37.05; DT = 12.79) living in different settings (family home, residential facilities and group homes). Measurement and structural models were estimated using exploratory structural equation modeling. Results obtained reveal that people with extensive support needs receive less support in terms of guaranteeing their right to independent living and privacy, especially when they live in disability-related services. This study highlights the need to implement and monitor, using valid and reliable indicators, mesosystem strategies that guarantee the right to live and participate in the community, especially for individuals with ID and extensive support needs.

La incidencia del apoyo social comunitario en la calidad de vida de personas con discapacidad

La posición, identidad y rol social determinan los niveles de interacción positiva con nuestro entorno y, por ende, la capacidad del individuo para construir un tejido social estable que repercuta en los recursos psicosociales de la persona para afrontar sucesos de índole estresante. El estigma, el aislamiento y el desajuste de los roles sociales positivos fomentan la creación de espacios de exclusión en los que las personas con discapacidad intelectual ven imposibilitado el desarrollo de un plan de vida autónomo y de calidad. Residir en una comunidad no significa ser parte de ella, estar integrado en la misma o participar de forma activa. El trabajo en pro de la calidad de vida debe estar ligado al incremento de las redes sociales de apoyo estables y funcionalmente positivas, de la integración y la participación comunitarias y de la creación de espacios inclusivos que aborden de forma crítica el feedback sociedad-persona con discapacidad intelectual. Los resultados obtenidos a través de la realización de 125 entrevistas a personas tuteladas residentes en centros de atención a personas con discapacidad y/o residencias para personas mayores muestran déficits en los niveles de bienestar psicosocial que correlacionan de forma significativa con la calidad de vida. Además, se analizarán los citados resultados en función del sexo, el grado reconocido de dependencia y el tipo de alojamiento.