Work

More Than ‘Keeping an Eye’: Ensuring Children With Intellectual Disabilities Are Safe and Feel Safe in Hospital

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence to inform the provision of safe hospital care and treatment to children with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 52 parents/carers of 42 children with intellectual disabilities and 98 hospital staff about the care of children with intellectual disabilities during in-patient stays in English hospitals. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Factors potentially impacting on the safety of children with intellectual disabilities in hospital are encompassed under four domains: parental vigilance, child vulnerability, staffing capability and capacity, and the environment. CONCLUSIONS: A new healthcare lens is needed which places equal priority on the non-medical and medical needs of patients, and which recognises the importance of children and their parents both feeling and being safe in hospital. The use of a risk assessment instrument to facilitate this has the potential for multiple improvements at all levels.

Source: Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

DOI: 10.1111/jar.70055

Authors: Kate Oulton, Faith Gibson, Charlotte Kenten, Jessica Russell, Jo Wray

Institutions: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Mary University of London

Language: English

Topic: Down syndrome and intellectual disability research

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institute for Health and Care Research, NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre