A scoping review of the evidence for reasonable adjustments to support the management of longterm conditions in people with learning disabilities

Summary

"We should anticipate that …[people with learning disabilities]… will use our services and therefore we should expect and design care systems with inclusivity and reasonable accommodations in mind." Fisher (2022)

People with a learning disability can experience healthcare challenges related to communication, access and carer dependence that can lead to poor health outcomes.

We will use a scoping review to look for information about how people with a learning disability are supported to make decisions about their health when they have a long-term condition. We will identify examples of high-quality healthcare and examples of where healthcare could be improved.

It is important that people with learning disabilities, their family and carers and the healthcare professionals who support them are involved in the project to make sure that it is relevant and reflects their priorities. We will invite people from these groups to join workshops to share their opinions, including how we collect the information for the scoping review and what the findings mean.

We will use our results to create a larger project to improve the care of people with a learning disability and arthritis. Arthritis affects around 10 million people in the UK. While there is lots of research about how people can be supported to live well with their arthritis, it rarely includes people with learning disabilities. Finding ways of supporting people with learning disabilities to make decisions about their treatment and how they manage their symptoms will make arthritis care more equal.