Intervention effects on professionals' attitudes towards the participation of adults with visual and severe or profound intellectual disabilities.
Gineke Hanzen, Aly Waninge, Ruth M A van Nispen and 3 others
PMID 32789929WHAT IT FOUND
Direct support professionals who received participation training wrote profiles of their clients that listed significantly fewer disabilities after six months.
However, their self-reported attitudes showed no significant improvement compared to standard care, and a simple information brochure produced similar or better attitude changes.
Key findings
01Direct support professionals in the intervention group described significantly fewer disabilities and limitations of adults with visual and severe or profound intellectual disabilities after six months compared to control groups.
02Self-reported attitudes towards participation showed only positive trends, not significant improvements, for the intervention group compared to usual care.
03The control group receiving only a Participation Mind Map brochure showed significant and relevant improvements in attitudes towards leisure, social relations, and ability to act, compared to usual care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was non-randomized, and groups differed significantly at baseline in terms of client age, sex, and wheelchair use. The sample size was small (43 DSPs), leading to low statistical power. The new attitude questionnaire (APQ) had psychometric properties that were not robust for all domains. Implementation of the intervention was challenging, with DSPs reporting lack of time and resources. High dropout rates and job changes affected the completeness of follow-up data. Baseline scores for the intervention and PMM groups were higher than the usual care group, potentially causing a ceiling effect.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the ethical committee of the University of Groningen.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the intensive training is superior to the simple brochure. The brochure-only group showed significant improvements in self-reported attitudes, while the training group did not, suggesting the brochure may be a more effective or efficient way to influence attitudes in this setting.