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Outcomes and costs of skilled support for people with severe or profound intellectual disability and complex needs
Author(s) -
BeadleBrown Julie,
Beecham Jennifer,
Leigh Jennifer,
Whelton Rebecca,
Richardson Lisa
Publication year - 2021
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/jar.12782
Subject(s) - government (linguistics) , inclusion (mineral) , quality (philosophy) , service (business) , quality of life (healthcare) , intellectual disability , business , order (exchange) , project commissioning , element (criminal law) , nursing , psychology , medicine , publishing , marketing , psychiatry , social psychology , political science , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology , finance , law
Background With increasing reductions in funding for social care across many countries, the need to ensure that resources are used to best effect is becoming increasingly important, in particular for those with severe and complex needs. Methods In order to explore the outcomes and costs of skilled support for this group of people, quality of life was assessed for 110 people in 35 services in England. Information on costs was also collected. Results People who received consistently good active support experienced better outcomes in terms of several quality of life domains. Good support did not require significantly more staff time, and there was no evidence of higher total costs for those receiving good support. Conclusions The inclusion of active support in government guidance and local commissioning practices related to people with severe intellectual disabilities is likely to improve user outcomes. Observation should be an important element in measuring service quality.