Empowerment in people with an intellectual disability

Background
In 1971 the UK government changed the way services for people with an intellectual disability were delivered, moving from institutional environments to integrated care within the community (DoH, 1971). Since then, a number of government papers have built upon this movement across health and social care generally, as well as specifically in intellectual disabilities. This review will look at support staff involvement with people with an intellectual disability diagnosis and the promotion of empowerment to service users.

Method
A literature review was done to investigate the question: “What is known about empowerment from health care professional’s perspective in intellectual disabilities”. Two databases were reviewed: EBSCO and Web of Science, eight papers were identified.

Findings
Two main themes emerged from the papers; choice and control, and communication.

Conclusions
The papers reviewed highlighted that there were times when service user’s choice and control were being respected by staff, but also times when staff ignored or stopped service users attempts to exert choice or control. The way staff communicated with service users was also important in the empowerment of service users. Different communication styles either allowed or restricted choice and control. Of importance is the decisions staff have to make about when to pursue interactions, when not to and the effect of this on the service user. Limitations, strengths and areas for further research are discussed