Community participation and staying home if you want: US adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Roger J Stancliffe, Sandra L Pettingell, Julie Bershadsky and 2 others
PMID 35661357WHAT IT FOUND
Only 42.0% of adults in US staffed group settings could stay home when others went out.
Those who could stay home did not participate less; they went out more often for shopping and errands and had more variety in who they went out with.
Key findings
0142.0% of participants reported they could stay home if they wanted to, while 41.8% always had to go out.
02Participants who could stay home had a significantly higher frequency of high-level participation in shopping and errands compared to those who always had to go.
03Those who could stay home had significantly lower counts of community activities done with staff and higher counts done alone, with friends, or with family.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study excluded people living alone or with family, so findings apply only to staffed, multi-client residential settings. Data were aggregated across 36 states with varying service policies, which may obscure state-specific effects. The study only assessed one aspect of block treatment (staying home), not other institutional practices. Most participants were white, limiting generalisability to racial and ethnic minorities.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the ability to stay home as a sign of social isolation or reduced community engagement. The study found that those who could stay home actually participated in shopping and errands more frequently and had more diverse social companions than those who were required to go out with the group.