Exploring health and wellness among Native American adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and their family caregivers.

The study included four adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and four caregivers, and all four adults were men, so the themes cannot represent all Native American adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Participants had to identify as Native American, have an intellectual/developmental disability, be adults and not live on Native Nation lands, so it says little about people living on Native Nation lands or those who did not meet these criteria. The study asked people to describe health and wellness; it did not test an intervention or measure health outcomes. Findings rely on photographs, interviews and group notes from a community-engaged project, so they reflect how this group chose to show their experience, not a broad population survey. Themes were discussed by the adult with intellectual/developmental disability and/or the caregiver, so it is not clear which themes came from the adult with disability and which from the caregiver.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The paper does not state who funded the work.

Do not read these themes as evidence that Photovoice or employment support improves health. The paper only describes how four male participants and their caregivers defined wellness, and it does not test any treatment or outcome.