None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Bridge to Better Health aims to improve preventative health actions to people with intellectual disability. The project intervention will support practice nurses at General Practices by providing educational resources and access to a specialised disability nurse to assist in facilitating health assessments. We will collect quantitative data from medical and hospital records in order to explore changes in preventative health actions, and potentially avoidable hospitalisation for people with intellectual disability. Qualitative data will be in the form of interviews/surveys for practice nurses/staff and people with intellectual disability to understand their experiences either completing the health assessment or being the patient during the intervention. Expected outcomes are an increase in preventative health actions for people with ID; a decrease in potentially avoidable hospitalisations for people with ID; an increase in practice nurses' knowledge, attitudes and confidence towards patients with ID.
Interventions
The Bridge to Better Health Intervention is made up of 3 arms. This intervention is targeted at Practice Nurses who are supporting patients with intellectual disability.
Arm 1: Access to a specialised intellectual disability nurse
- The specialist intellectual disability nurse will have received training and/or detailed experience supporting people with intellectual disability prior to their involvement in their study.
- The specialist disability nurse will provide direct support to the practic
The Bridge to Better Health Intervention is made up of 3 arms. This intervention is targeted at Practice Nurses who are supporting patients with intellectual disability. Arm 1: Access to a specialised intellectual disability nurse - The specialist intellectual disability nurse will have received training and/or detailed experience supporting people with intellectual disability prior to their involvement in their study. - The specialist disability nurse will provide direct support to the practice nurses through monthly check-ins via phone or video call (approximately 15-30 minutes depending on the practice nurses needs). In addition to the monthly check ins, the specialist intellectual disability nurse will also be available to provide advice as needed and where required, will travel within a 150km radius of the Mater Hospital to provide additional support. Arm 2: Online Education - The education content/modules are being specifically designed for this study, with members of the project having recently designed similar education as part of the EASY health project. - Examples of topics include; health risks of patients with intellectual disability, barriers to accessing healthcare, reasonable adjustments and a CHAP health assessment information video. - The education will be designed in modules, with short videos, written text and infographics. It will be available through a secure web portal and receive a log in to do so. This will not be available to the general public. - We aim to have a maximum of six modules that can be completed in one sitting (as to ensure the completion of them) and run for roughly 1 hour in total. Arm 3: Online Resources - Online resources will be available in a secure web portal and not open to the general public. They will be specifically designed for this project and include things such as; instructions on completing health assessments, access to previous research completed by the MIDAS team etc. Response to all arms of the intervention: - Participants will be given access to all three arms of the intervention. - The overall duration of the intervention will be 6 months post-enrolment and be active for 12 months. - All online resources/education will be hosted on a secure web portal that which we will have access to the analytics. We will be able to monitor which participants have completed and send automated reminders if they have not. The specialist intellectual disability nurse will keep a diary of participants they have seen and at what date/time etc.
Sponsors
University of Queensland
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
15 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
General practices in the Greater Brisbane area, including the catchments of Brisbane North, Brisbane South and Darling Downs and West Moreton PHNs (approx. 750 practices), will be eligible to participate in screening for the RCT. Individual practices will be eligible for study inclusion if they i. employ at least one practice nurse who consents to be part of the project ii. the practice provides services to at least 5 patients with intellectual disability. Individuals with intellectual disability will be eligible to participate if they: i. have intellectual disability (self-identify or confirmed by GP), ii. are aged 15 years and above iii. provide informed consent or if required, have a substitute decision-maker to provide informed consent. Support people of individuals with intellectual disability will be eligible to participate if they: i. support a person aged 15 years and above with intellectual disability (support person reported or confirmed by GP), ii. are aged 18 years and above, iii. provide informed consent Practice nurses, GPs and other practice staff will be eligible to participate if they: i. are aged 18 years and above, ii. provide informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
Unable to provide informed consent or assent Under the age of 15 for participants with intellectual disability Under the age of 18 for practice staff and support people
Outcome results
None listed