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Developing a Mental Health Guide for Families and Carers of People with Intellectual Disabilities
Author(s) -
Gratsa Anastasia,
Spiller Mary Jane,
Holt Geraldine,
Joyce Theresa,
Hardy Steven,
Bouras Nick
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3148.2005.00296.x
Subject(s) - resource (disambiguation) , mental health , intellectual disability , service (business) , focus group , information resource , psychology , nursing , health professionals , mental health service , medical education , medicine , psychiatry , health care , knowledge management , computer science , business , computer network , marketing , economics , economic growth
Background Although there is already information available about caring for someone with a mental health problem, there is very little written for families and carers of people with intellectual disabilities. Materials and methods This paper describes the development of a Guide as such a resource. The consultation stage involved interviews and focus groups with families, service users and paid carers ( n = 20) to highlight their needs and preferred format. Additional carers ( n = 12) completed structured questionnaires to evaluate the Guide. Results The initial consultation showed that an easily accessible and user‐friendly information resource was needed. The evaluation showed that family carers were satisfied with the Guide, finding it easy to read and covering most of the information required. However, they did highlight areas that needed further detail. Conclusions The involvement of carers in the development of such resources is essential, emphasizing the benefit of carers’ knowledge and experience to professionals.