Understanding the contribution of intellectual disability nurses. Paper 2 of 4 - Survey.

Abstract

The objective was to identify intellectual disability nursing interventions and their impact on the health and healthcare of people with intellectual disability. Data was collected using an online survey questionnaire from a voluntary response and snowball sample of 230 participants. Thematic, descriptive statistical, and inferential statistical analyses were undertaken. We identified 878 interventions that could be undertaken by intellectual disability nurses from 7 countries. We categorised the interventions into five themes: effectuating nursing procedures, enhancing impact of intellectual disability services, enhancing impact of mainstream services, enhancing quality of life, and enhancing intellectual disability nursing practice. Findings demonstrate that intellectual disability nurses play important roles in improving the health and healthcare experiences of people with intellectual disability.