Standard care and telecare services: comparing the effectiveness of two service systems with consumers with intellectual disabilities

• Published in: Journal of intellectual disability research Vol. 54; no. 9; pp. 843 - 859
• Main Authors: Taber-Doughty, T., Shurr, J., Brewer, J., Kubik, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2010; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adults; Biological and medical sciences; Caregiver Role; Caregivers; Case Studies; Community Based Instruction (Disabilities); Comparative analysis; Consumer Behavior; Consumers; Daily Living Skills; Developmental disabilities; Effectiveness; Female; Health care; Health services; Home Care Services - organization & administration; Household activities; Housework; Housing; Humans; Independent Living; Intellectual deficiency; intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability - therapy; Internet - organization & administration; Learning disabilities; Learning disabled people; Male; Medical sciences; Mental health; Mental Retardation; Middle Aged; Organization of mental health. Health systems; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Prompting; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Residence Characteristics; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Social Support; Social Support Groups; standard care; Task completion; Telecare; Telecommunications; telehealth; Telemedicine; Telemedicine - organization & administration; United States; North America; America; United States > US; Human; Social environment; Handicap; Health system; Treatment efficiency; Mental health; Developmental disorder; Mental retardation; standard care; Case study; independent living; intellectual disabilities; Treatment; Consumer; Telemedicine; telehealth; Intellectual deficiency; Adult; Application method; consumers; Autonomy; telecare; Public health
• ISSN: 0964-2633; 1365-2788
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01314.x

Background  Onsite standard care and remote telecare supports were provided to adults with intellectual disabilities living in integrated community settings and evaluated in terms of effectiveness as consumers completed a series of novel household activities. Methods  Using an alternating treatment design with baseline and follow‐up conditions in this single‐case study, investigators compared the prompting effectiveness provided by onsite standard care staff and a remote telecare provider. Results  While both types of supports resulted in consumers completing tasks, results indicated consumers achieved slightly more independence when prompted by the telecare support provider. Additionally, telecare supports resulted in greater duration for task completion per consumer. Conclusions  Although consumers completed tasks with greater independence using telecare supports, caution should be used when interpreting results due to the small number of participants. The potential for this technology certainly exists in supporting consumers in their own homes thus, suggestions for future investigations are provided.