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A National Survey of the Social and Emotional Differences Reported by Adults with Disability in Ireland Compared to the General Population

McCONKEY, Roy
2021

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The disadvantages experienced by adult persons with disabilities are well documented. However, limited evidence is available on the extent of differences in comparison with the non- disabled population. In this study, selected indicators of social status and mental wellbeing derived from past research, were used with national samples of adult persons in Ireland with a disability (n = 440) and without a disability (n = 880) recruited through household quota sampling. In addition, comparisons were drawn with equivalent data derived from a contemporaneous national census. Although many of the differences were statistically significant, the effect sizes were mostly medium to low. Moreover, when the inter-relationships among the various indicators was taken into account using Discriminant Analysis, persons with disabilities were less likely to be employed; they reported lower levels of social engagement and had poorer emotional wellbeing. They were also older, more likely to be single and have no children. The study illustrates the potential of using comparative data to monitor the impact of national actions taken to reduce the inequalities experienced by persons with disability as well as highlighting the arenas into which professional supports need to be focused.

Bullying among primary school-aged students: which factors could strengthen their tendency towards resilience?

GANOTZ, Tanja
SCHWAB, Susanne
LEHOFER, Mike
2021

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Resilience is the capacity to cope successfully with various threats. This paper aims to adapt the Resilience-Scale of Schumacher et al. (2004. Die Resilienzskala – ein Fragebogen zur Erfassung der psychischen Widerstandsfähigkeit als Personmerkmal. [The Resilience Scale – A Questionnaire to Measure Mental Resilience as a Personal Characteristic]. Zentrum für Klinische Psychologie, Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie) to measure the tendency of being resilient even before a threat occurs. Since primary school students are exposed to various threats at school, 535 4th grade students of Austrian primary schools were surveyed for the study. The reliability of the short-scale was found to be acceptable (Cronbach’s α = .66), and the tendency towards resilience can be explained by the students’ perception of their social inclusion in class (F (1,252) = 15.11, p<.05) and the relationship with their mothers (F (2, 251) = 10, 02, p<.05). The stability of the students’ tendency of being resilient was only moderate. A similar correlation between resilience and school-wellbeing for victims and non-victims of bullying can be reported. Future studies should focus more on primary school students’ resilience and related protective factors.

Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in UK Thalidomide Survivors: A Brief Survey

NEWBRONNER, Elizabeth
WADMAN, Ruth
2021

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Between 1958 and 1961, the drug Thalidomide was prescribed in the UK as a treatment for morning sickness. It caused severe birth defects. Thalidomide survivors are now experiencing a range of secondary health problems, including depression and anxiety. Internationally, it is estimated that 40% to 50% of Thalidomide survivors have recently experienced common mental health problems. The aim of this study was to gather information about the pattern of symptoms of depression and anxiety amongst UK Thalidomide survivors. A cross-sectional postal survey of 182 UK Thalidomide survivors, which used Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) to measure self-reported depression and anxiety, was conducted. Data were first analysed using descriptive statistics. A point-biserial correlation was used to examine whether being unable to work was associated with higher depression and anxiety scores. Prevalence of all levels of depression and anxiety was higher amongst the Thalidomide survivors than the general UK population but broadly similar to other groups of adults with disabling conditions. Being unable to work was associated with higher depression and anxiety scores. More research is needed to understand the relationship between early acquired physical disability and depression, in particular the implications, over the life course, of secondary health problems and changing social roles.

Preliminary Findings From a Nationwide, Multicenter Mental Health Service for Adults and Older Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder and ID

HELVERSCHOU, Sissel Berge
BAKKEN, Trine Lise
BERGE, Heidi
BJØRGEN, Tale Gjertine
BOTHEIM, Henrik
HELLERUD, Jane Askeland
HELSET, Ingunn
ODDBJØRN, Hove
JOHANSEN, Per Anders
KILDAHL, Arvid Nikolai
LUDVIGSEN, Linn Beate
NYGAARD, Sissel
RYSSTAD, Anne
WIGAARD, Elisabeth
HOWLIN, Patricia
2020

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Background: The identification and treatment of psychiatric disorders in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and ID presents many challenges. We describe the development of a professional network, together with a standardized protocol for clinical assessment, designed to promote clinical competence and professional development in eight clinical centers responsible for providing mental health services to autistic individuals with ID across all four health regions of Norway. Specic aims to describe: (1) patterns of psychiatric and behavior problems in patients treated by the network, (2) patterns of change over time, and (3) the relationship between psychiatric disorders and behavior problems.


Method: A standardized protocol was used to assess individual progress in 132 patients (inpatients and outpatients) with autism and ID over 2 years (at referral (T1), after 1 year (T2), and after 2 years (T3)). Changes in psychiatric symptoms and behavior problems were assessed with the Psychopathology in Autism Checklist (PAC) and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC).


Results: Patients showed signicant (p < .001) improvements from T1 to T2 on the psychosis, depression and anxiety subscales of the PAC, but no signicant improvement on the obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) subscale. Improvements were maintained from T2 to T3. Patients showed signicant (p < .01) improvements on the ABC total score and on all ABC subscales except inappropriate speech from T1 to T2; these improvements were maintained from T2 to T3.


Discussion: The combination of a professional network and a standardized protocol for clinical assessment has promise as a strategy for improving professional competence and facilitating specialized mental health services for autistic individuals with ID and psychiatric disorders across an extensive geographical area.

The impact of COVID-19 on disabled people in Northern Ireland

FITZSIMONS, Sean
O'NEILL, Emma
CRAWFORD, Alison
September 2020

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Key findings and recommendations are reported from an online survey published in April 2020 to gather the experiences of disabled people, their families and carers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Northern Ireland. The survey went live on April 1st 2020 and closed on April 30th 2020.  Over 400 survey responses were received, including over 1300 written statements. 

Key findings are reported in the areas of: social care; physical health; mental health and emotional wellbeing; carers; accessing food and medicine; accessing information; employment and training; social security benefits and community support

Does the criminal justice system treat disabled people fairly? Inclusive justice: a system designed for all

EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
April 2020

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The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry to understand the experiences of disabled defendants and accused people in the criminal justice system. They looked at:

  • whether their needs are properly identified
  • the types of adjustments being made to accomodate their needs, and
  • whether they can fully participate in court processes and understand the charges they face.

Based on their findings, recommendations are made to UK Governments.

 

The use of video hearings was rapidly expanded in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In April 2020, interim findings from this inquiry were released to help mitigate the risks that this technology poses to disabled people in the criminal justice system.

Pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance in young adults with cerebral palsy

VAN GORP, Marloes
DALLMEIJER, Annet J
VAN WELY, Leontien
DE GROOT, Vincent
TERWEE, Caroline B
FLENS, Gerard
STAM, Henk J
VAN DER SLOT, Wilma
ROEBROECK, Marij E
December 2019

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Purpose: Investigate pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance in young adults with cerebral palsy compared to references.

 

Materials and methods: Young adults with cerebral palsy (n = 97, aged 21–34 years) and age-matched references from the general population (n = 190) rated pain using a numeric rating scale and fatigue, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbance and global health using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® short forms. Scores were compared between cerebral palsy subgroups and the reference population. Correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses assessed interrelationships of health issues and associations with global health.

 

Results: Individuals with Gross Motor Function Classification System level I had less pain, fatigue and depressive symptoms, while individuals with levels II and III–V had more pain (53% and 56%, p < 0.001) and those with levels III–V more fatigue (39%, p = 0.035) than references (pain: 26%, fatigue: 14%). Pain and fatigue were more interrelated (correlation coefficients: 0.71 vs. 0.41) and stronger associated with global mental health in individuals with cerebral palsy.

 

Conclusions: Young adults with Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II–V report more pain and those with levels III–V report more fatigue than references. Pain and fatigue are highly interrelated and specifically relate to mental health in individuals with cerebral palsy.

Balancing care and work: a case study of recognition in a social enterprise

BLONK, L
HUIJBEN, T
BREDEWOLD, F
TONKENS, E
2019

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This paper discusses a case study of a Dutch work-integration social enterprise (WISE) to add to the debate on the contribution of employment to the citizenship of intellectually disabled people and those experiencing mental health conditions. In current welfare state policies, the value of labour market participation is narrowed down to regular employment, as workplace support and care provisions are seen as stigmatising and segregating. We argue that a more nuanced understanding is needed of the intersection of support arrangements with the benefits of employment. Building on ‘recognition theory’ by the German philosopher Honneth, our findings show that the work-integration social enterprise under study is successfully balancing the contrasting demands of logics of care and work, leading to experiences of ‘recognition.’ However, this balance is fragile and does not undo the misrecognition of disabled people as unable to live up to the productivity norms of a capitalist labour market.

Associations between occupational and social interaction factors and well-being among people with psychiatric disabilities living in supported housing in Sweden

EKLUND, Mona
TJÖRNSTRAND, Carina
2019

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Research indicates that occupation is important for well-being in people with mental illness, but this has not been extensively studied among those with severe psychiatric disabilities. Social contacts may possibly play a more vital role for them. This study aimed to explore how aspects of occupation and social interaction were related with well-being factors in that group, while controlling for the influence of clinical factors. People with psychiatric disabilities living in congregate supported housing (CSH; N = 155) responded to questionnaires addressing occupation, social contacts and well-being aspects, such as subjective health, quality of life, self-mastery, and personal recovery. A comparison group with psychiatric disabilities who lived in an ordinary flat or house and received outreach housing support (N=111) completed the same instruments. The two groups were compared regarding their pattern of associations between occupation, social contacts, and well-being. Associations between occupation and well-being in the CSH group showed that general satisfaction with everyday occupations in particular was related to all aspects of well-being, whereas activity level and occupational balance were not related to well-being. The relationships were fewer and weaker, in comparison to the group in ordinary housing with outreach support. Indicators of social contacts were basically unrelated to well-being. The study contributes to occupational science by showing that the role of a high activity level for well-being, although important, should not be overemphasized. Future research should focus on narratives to get the voices of people residing in CSH and on exploration of how individually/socially performed occupations are associated with well-being.

Towards independent living: Collecting examples from Europe

ANGELOVA-MLADENOVA, Lilia
March 2019

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This Collection is a joint initiative of the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and the European Disability Forum (EDF). It features examples from different EU Member States, which to a different extent facilitate the right to live independently in the community.

The examples are divided into four areas, presented in different chapters:

  • Legislation and funding: State Funded Peer-Counselling – Estonia; Direct Payments – Ireland.
  • Community-based support: Peer-Counselling for women with disabilities – Austria; Supported living for adults with intellectual disabilities – Croatia; Supported Decision-Making – The Czech Republic; Mobile Mental Health Units – Greece; Personal Assistance for People with Complex Disabilities – Sweden .
  • Involvement of disabled people: Co-Production in Social Care – United Kingdom; Participation of Organisations of People with Disabilities – Italy
  • Self-advocacy: Self-Advocacy of Disabled People – Romania

 

Mental health among Sami people with intellectual disabilities

GJERTSEN, Hege
2019

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The first living condition-survey among people with intellectual disability in Sami areas in Norway was conducted in 2017. The purpose of this article is to present and discuss results from the living-condition study, with a focus on the results related to mental health and bullying as a risk factor for poor mental health among people with intellectual disability and a Sami background. We have conducted a questionnaire survey among people with intellectual disability in Sami areas, with and without a Sami background (N = 93). People with intellectual disability have poorer mental health compared to the population in general and those with Sami background have the poorest mental health. Bullying is one of several factors that increase the risk of poor mental health among people with intellectual disability and Sami background. Having a Sami background makes people with intellectual disability more disposed to poor mental health.

Is there really a “golden hour” for work disability interventions? A narrative review

ASADAHL, Lene
STEIRO FIMLAND, Marius
January 2019

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The subacute phase of low back pain has been termed as the “golden hour” to intervene to prevent work disability. This notion is based on the literature up to 2001 and is limited to back pain. In this narrative review, we examined whether the current literature indicate an optimal time for return to work (RTW) interventions. We considered randomized controlled trials published from 1997 to April 2018 assessing effects of occupational rehabilitation interventions for musculoskeletal complaints (15 included), mental health disorders (9 included) or a combination of the two (1 included). We examined participants’ sick leave duration at inclusion and the interventions’ effects on RTW. Most studies reporting an effect on RTW included participants with musculoskeletal complaints in the subacute phase, supporting that this phase could be a beneficial time to start RTW-interventions. However, recent studies suggest that RTW-interventions also can be effective for workers with longer sick leave durations. Our interpretation is that there might not be a limited time window or “golden hour” for work disability interventions, but rather a question about what type of intervention is right at what time and for whom. However, more research is needed. Particularly, we need more high-quality studies on the effects of RTW-interventions for sick listed individuals with mental health disorders.

Gendered experiences of physical restraint on locked wards for women

FISH, Rebecca
HATTON, Chris
2017

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Physical restraint is used in inpatient services for people with intellectual disabilities as a way of holding a person to avoid injury. This article uses data from an ethnographic study in a locked unit in the north of England to explore women’s experiences of physical restraint using a feminist disability studies analysis. Data consists of field notes as well as interviews with 16 of the women who had experienced restraint, and 10 staff who worked with them. The women gave insights into the gendered phenomenon of restraint in light of their past experiences of violence. The authors argue that restraint is used with women to encourage passivity at times when more relational and therapeutic methods could be used. The article offers recommendations for alternative strategies that services can encourage.

Troubling school toilets: resisting discourses of ‘development’ through a critical disability studies and critical psychology lens

SLATER, Jen
JONES, Charlotte
PROCTER, Lisa
2017

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This paper interrogates how school toilets and ‘school readiness’ are used to assess children against developmental milestones. Such developmental norms both inform school toilet design and practice, and perpetuate normative discourses of childhood as middle-class, white, ‘able’, heteronormative, cissexist and inferior to adulthood. Critical psychology and critical disability studies frame our analysis of conversations from online practitioner forums. We show that school toilets and the norms and ideals of ‘toilet training’ act as one device for Othering those who do not fit into normative Western discourses of ‘childhood’. Furthermore, these idealised discourses of ‘childhood’ reify classed, racialised, gendered and dis/ablist binaries of good/bad parenting. We conclude by suggesting new methodological approaches to school toilet research which resist perpetuating developmental assumptions and prescriptions. In doing this, the paper is the first to explicitly bring school toilet research into the realms of critical psychology and critical disability studies.

Mental health and trauma in asylum seekers landing in Sicily in 2015: a descriptive study of neglected invisible wounds

CREPET, Anna
RITA, Francesco
REID, Anthony
et al
January 2017

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Abstract

 

Background

 

In 2015, Italy was the second most common point of entry for asylum seekers into Europe after Greece. The vast majority embarked from war-torn Libya; 80,000 people claimed asylum that year. Their medical conditions were assessed on arrival but their mental health needs were not addressed in any way, despite the likelihood of serious trauma before and during migration. Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), in agreement with the Italian Ministry of Health, provided mental health (MH) assessment and care for recently-landed asylum seekers in Sicily. This study documents mental health conditions, potentially traumatic events and post-migratory living difficulties experienced by asylum seekers in the MSF programme in 2014–15.

 

Methods

 

All asylum seekers transiting the 15 MSF-supported centres were invited to a psycho-educational session. A team of psychologists and cultural mediators then provided assessment and care for those identified with MH conditions. Potentially traumatic events experienced before and during the journey, as well as post-migratory living difficulties, were recorded. All those diagnosed with MH conditions from October 2014 to December 2015 were included in the study.

 

Results

 

Among 385 individuals who presented themselves for a MH screening during the study period, 193 (50%) were identified and diagnosed with MH conditions. Most were young, West African males who had left their home-countries more than a year prior to arrival. The most common MH conditions were post traumatic stress disorder (31%) and depression (20%). Potentially traumatic events were experienced frequently in the home country (60%) and during migration (89%). Being in a combat situation or at risk of death, having witnessed violence or death and having been in detention were the main traumas. Lack of activities, worries about home, loneliness and fear of being sent home were the main difficulties at the AS centres.

 

Conclusion

 

MH conditions, potentially traumatic events and post-migratory living difficulties are commonly experienced by recently-arrived ASs, this study suggests that mental health and psychosocial support and improved living circumstances should be integrated into European medical and social services provided by authorities in order to fulfil their humanitarian responsibility and reduce the burden of assimilation on receiving countries.

 

Keywords

 

Immigration Asylum seekers Refugee Mental health Italy Europe Traumatic event Operational research

Greece: Refugees with Disabilities Overlooked, Underserved

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
January 2017

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Refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants with disabilities are not properly identified and do not enjoy equal access to services in reception centres in Greece.  On the basis of research carried out in mainland Greece and on the Greek islands in October 2016 and January 2017, and follow-up phone interviews in December 2016 and January 2017, Human Rights Watch found that asylum seekers and refugees with disabilities are not properly identified in Greece, in part because of a rushed registration process and the need for better guidance for staff. Without an adequate understanding of the scale and needs, aid agencies cannot respond effectively. Problems with equal access to water and sanitation services, food distribution, shelter, and health care including mental health and psychosocial support are reported.

Mental health and trauma in asylum seekers landing in Sicily in 2015: a descriptive study of neglected invisible wounds

CREPET, Anna
RITA, Francesco
REID, Anthony
et al
January 2017

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While the medical conditions of newly migrated asylum seekers to Sicily were being addressed, the mental health of those who may have experienced trauma before, during, or after their migration was not addressed. "Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), in agreement with the Italian Ministry of Health, provided mental health (MH) assessment and care for recently-landed asylum seekers in Sicily. This study documents mental health conditions, potentially traumatic events and post-migratory living difficulties experienced by asylum seekers in the MSF programme in 2014–15." 

UNCRPD: What is Article 12 and legal capacity?

MENTAL HEALTH EUROPE (MHE)
June 2016

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Article 12. of the UNCRPD wants to ensure that every person with disabilities including people with psychosocial disabilities may enjoy equal recognition before the law which requires legal capacity.

This short animated video seeks to explain what legal capacity is all about and recalls that everyone has the inherent right to make their own choices including people with psychosocial disabilities. 

Discourses of service user involvement in meeting places in Norwegian community mental health care: a discourse analysis of staff accounts

YNNESDAL HAUGEN, Lill Susann
ENVY, Andreas
BORG, Marit
EKELAND, Tor-Johan
ANDERSSEN, Norman
2016

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In previous research, meeting places have been favourably addressed by service users, but they have also been contested as exclusionary. In this participatory explorative study, we sought to perform a contextual analysis of meeting places in Norway based on a discourse analysis of three focus group discussions with 15 staff members. We asked the following question: how do meeting-place employees discuss their concrete and abstract encounters with service users and their experiences? We focused on service user involvement, which was largely analysed as neoliberal consultation and responsibilisation. Service users were positioned as resisting responsibility trickling down and defending staffed meeting places. Social democratic discourse was identified in the gaps of neoliberal discourse, which is noteworthy given that Norway is a social democracy. This relates to global concerns about displacements of democracy. We suggest that meeting places appear to hold the potential for staff and service users to collaborate more democratically.

‘First, do no harm’ : are disability assessments associated with adverse trends in mental health? A longitudinal ecological study

BARR, B
et al
November 2015

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“In England between 2010 and 2013, just over one million recipients of the main out-of-work disability benefit had their eligibility reassessed using a new functional checklist—the Work Capability Assessment. Doctors and disability rights organisations have raised concerns that this has had an adverse effect on the mental health of claimants, but there are no population level studies exploring the health effects of this or similar policies… Here the researchers used multivariable regression to investigate whether variation in the trend in reassessments in each of 149 local authorities in England was associated with differences in local trends in suicides, self-reported mental health problems and antidepressant prescribing rates, while adjusting for baseline conditions and trends in other factors known to influence mental ill-health”

 

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, doi:10.1136/jech-2015-206209

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