LEARNING DISABILITY PRACTICE April 2009 | Volume 12 | Number 3 13
Research round-up is compiled by Dr Steve
McNally, Oxford Brookes University/
Oxfordshire Learning Disability Trust
http://networks.csip.org.uk/
dignityincare/
This website may be of interest to readers,
particularly because of the The People's
Award for Dignity in Care. The award
is a new initiative designed to recognise
individuals or teams who have `gone above
and beyond the call of duty to support
people using health or social care services
and, in so doing, have improved patient
dignity and service experience'.
The awards scheme is being organised
and promoted by the Health and Social
Care Awards team, part of the NHS
Institute, alongside the Dignity in Care and
Integrated Communications team in the
Department of Health. The award is one
of the categories in the health and social
care awards and is the only category that
allows members of the public to nominate
candidates.
The public (service users, carers,
families) can nominate health or social
care staff in their area for a regional award.
Readers should be aware that members
of staff will be able to nominate their
colleagues. Nominations also need to be
supported by a member of the public. The
public and staff will be able to submit their
applications online. The ten regional winners
will compete for a national award.
On the web
Awards for dignity care
Resources
Prescriptions for children
Behavioural problems presenting in young
people can, as practitioners are aware,
often be managed by non-pharmacological
strategies. These include teaching children
coping and problem-solving skills, and
encouraging parents to reward positive
behaviours when they occur.
This study sought to identify trends in
antipsychotic medication prescription for
people aged 18 years and under in the
UK. Anonymised patient data were drawn
from 384 general practices included in the
General Practice Research Database. The only
cases included in the study were those that
concerned young people prescribed at least
one antipsychotic medication.
It was found that the prevalence of
antipsychotic medication prescriptions for
children and adolescents in the UK increased
between 1993 and 2005. This was driven
by an increase in atypical antipsychotic
prescriptions. Psychiatric diagnoses for
which antipsychotic medications have been
prescribed varied across age group. Conduct,
behavioural and personality disorders were the
most common in the 0-12 years age range,
whereas affective disorders were commonest
among 13-18 year olds. Psychotic illnesses
were more prevalent in the older age (13-18
years) group.
It will be interesting to see how this trend
develops and what the implications may be
for practice.
Rani F, Murray ML, Byrne PJ et al (2008)
Epidemiologic features of antipsychotic
prescribing to children and adolescents
in primary care in the United Kingdom.
Paediatrics. 121, 5, 1002-1009.
General psychiatric services
The issue of access to general psychiatry for
people with a learning disability can evoke
different views. One argument runs that we
should all have access to general psychiatry
should we need it; another view is that people
with a learning disability are best supported
by a specialist service. It has been observed
that forms of `talking therapy' are difficult to
access for people with learning disabilities,
particularly when these are severe.
This study aimed to identify differences in
outcome for people with a learning disability
and mental illness treated in general or
specialised mental health services. A review
in 2004 found no evidence to support either
model. Criticisms of reported studies included
that they were of a poor quality, lacked
replication and that outcome measures were
often inappropriate or varied between studies.
Research round-up
Prescriptions of antipsychotic medication for children
and adolescents in the UK have increased since 1993
Jupiterimages
The author carried out a literature review
using websites and electronic databases
of learning disability and mental health
organisations to discover all references
where people with learning disability receive
mental health care since 2003. Key findings
were that people with a learning disability,
especially when it is severe, have reduced
access to general psychiatry. General
psychiatric hospital care is not popular,
particularly with carers, but this can be
enhanced by providing specially trained
staff and `in-reach' from community learning
disability teams.
There may be opportunities to improve the
care of individuals with borderline intellectual
functioning in general psychiatric services.
Research suggests that provision of psychiatric
services is insufficient to meet the needs of
people with learning disabilities.
Chaplin R (2008) New research into
general psychiatric services for adults
with intellectual disability and mental
illness. Journal of Intellectual Disability
Research. 53, 3, 189-199.

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