Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Health and healthcare of people with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom through the COVID‐19 pandemic
AU - The Coronavirus and People with Learning Disabilities Study Team
AU - Hatton, Chris
AU - Hastings, Richard P.
AU - Caton, Sue
AU - Bradshaw, Jill
AU - Jahoda, Andrew
AU - Kelly, Rosemary
AU - Maguire, Roseann
AU - Oloidi, Edward
AU - Taggart, Laurence
AU - Todd, Stuart
PY - 2024/5/1
Y1 - 2024/5/1
N2 - Background: During the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, many health services were withdrawn from people with learning disabilities, with negative impacts on people's health. What has happened to people's health and healthcare as we move beyond the pandemic? Methods: Access to health services and health status were tracked for 550 UK adults with learning disabilities, using structured online interviews with people with learning disabilities and online surveys with family members or paid carers. Information was provided four times, from Wave 1 (in the winter 2020/2021 ‘lockdown’) to Wave 4 (autumn 2022, over a year after public health protections stopped). Findings: By Wave 4, most people with learning disabilities had had COVID‐19, although high vaccination rates limited the number of people hospitalised. There was little evidence that use of GP services, community nurses, other therapists or annual health checks had increased over time, and at Wave 4 more people were having difficulty getting their medicines. People's health did not substantially improve over time. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities had poorer health and were less likely to be accessing health services. Conclusions: Improvements in access to health services for people with learning disabilities after the pandemic have not yet happened.
AB - Background: During the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, many health services were withdrawn from people with learning disabilities, with negative impacts on people's health. What has happened to people's health and healthcare as we move beyond the pandemic? Methods: Access to health services and health status were tracked for 550 UK adults with learning disabilities, using structured online interviews with people with learning disabilities and online surveys with family members or paid carers. Information was provided four times, from Wave 1 (in the winter 2020/2021 ‘lockdown’) to Wave 4 (autumn 2022, over a year after public health protections stopped). Findings: By Wave 4, most people with learning disabilities had had COVID‐19, although high vaccination rates limited the number of people hospitalised. There was little evidence that use of GP services, community nurses, other therapists or annual health checks had increased over time, and at Wave 4 more people were having difficulty getting their medicines. People's health did not substantially improve over time. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities had poorer health and were less likely to be accessing health services. Conclusions: Improvements in access to health services for people with learning disabilities after the pandemic have not yet happened.
KW - health and social care policy and practice
KW - health
KW - learning (intellectual) disabilities
U2 - 10.1111/bld.12578
DO - 10.1111/bld.12578
M3 - Journal article
VL - 52
SP - 260
EP - 271
JO - British Journal of Learning Disabilities
JF - British Journal of Learning Disabilities
SN - 1354-4187
IS - 2
ER -