About 2% of Australians have an intellectual disability. These people often find it hard to get the health care they need and tend to have worse health than others.
To help fix this, researchers looked at different healthcare models used in Australia. They looked at published research and other reports to find out what works best in health care for people with intellectual disability.
They identified 10 published research studies and 5 other reports that showed the effects of their model of care.
The published studies included:
- 3 randomised controlled trials
- 1 study comparing past and current models of care
- 5 studies looking at changes before and after a new model of care
- 1 study looking at results after the model of care was conducted
The studies showed several benefits, including:
- More use of preventive health care
- Better access to health checks and treatment
- Less time spent in hospital
- Smoother care across different services
- More knowledge and job satisfaction for healthcare workers
- Lower costs due to better coordination of care
The Centre identified key features that helped achieve these results:
- Care focused on the person
- Adjustments to meet individual needs
- Building skills and knowledge of healthcare professionals
- Coordinating care within the health system
- Coordinating care between the health system and other sectors such as education
- Teamwork among different health professionals
Based on this, the Centre made eight recommendations to improve health care for people with intellectual disability. The full report includes details on who should lead each recommendation and areas where more research is needed.
Download the full scoping review
