Background: Rates of mental health conditions are high among adults with learning disabilities relative to the general population, however research suggests mental health conditions may be missed or under-identified in this population group. This review considers factors associated with the identification of mental health conditions among adults…

Background: Women with learning disabilities are less likely to access cervical and breast cancer screening when compared to the general population. The Social Ecological Model (SEM) was used to examine the inequalities faced by women with learning disabilities in accessing cervical and breast cancer screening in England, UK. Methods: The findings…

Background: Annual health checks in primary care include hearing assessment, though current guidance recommends subjective assessment only. Previous studies suggest this is inadequate and recommend objective alternatives such as hearing screening. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of hearing screening and examine the last recorded annual…

Background: People with intellectual disability often present atypically for various health conditions, making it challenging to identify concerns, particularly when communication challenges are also considered. Additionally, they may face barriers to healthcare access, resulting in many conditions going unnoticed. Health screening inequities are…

Background: People with learning disabilities are at increased risk of physical health conditions and mortality compared to the general population. Initiatives to address these health inequalities include the introduction of learning disability registers, through which people with learning disabilities can be identified and offered annual health…

Background: People with learning disabilities have an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hearing loss. This study explored service users' and health professionals' perspectives and experiences of adopting minimally invasive diagnostic and screening devices, known as point-of-care testing (POCT) as a means of improving access…

Background: Internationally, it is known that there are gaps in cancer and screening awareness among women with intellectual disabilities. Little is known about this awareness among Irish women with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study was to explore this awareness among these women. Materials and Methods: The study design incorporated…

The following article details a piece of service development work undertaken as part of the Plymouth Down Syndrome Screening Programme. The work aimed to review the use of three measures assessing executive functioning skills used within the Programme as well as with people without Down syndrome. Three tasks assessing executive functioning (the…

Background: Dementia prevalence rates are higher amongst people with learning disabilities than the general population. People with Down's syndrome are at even greater risk of developing dementia and of developing dementia at an earlier age. This study, conducted as part of a wider service evaluation, explored community learning disability team…

Background: Despite breast screening in Britain being free to all women within the allotted age range, uptake of this service is often poor in women with intellectual disabilities. Reasons put forward are numerous, including poor knowledge, pain and difficulty travelling to the centre. However, what influences the decision to attend is rarely…

Equality of access to health care for adults with learning disability has been in the spotlight in the UK in recent years due to publication of several reports. Adults with learning disability are thought to account for a significant proportion of the diabetic population in the UK. A list of adults known to the learning disability health…

This article provides a timely response in regard to the Department of Health's current initiative to financially reward GPs to prioritise and undertake dementia screening for people with learning disabilities over the age of 50 years and for people with Down syndrome over the age of 40 years. Whilst GPs are becoming increasingly aware of their…

Little research has been published on the need for sexual education for women in secure psychiatric facilities when patients present with a combination of learning disability, mental illness and personality disorder. The development of a brief, feasible, gender-speci?c sexual knowledge questionnaire is described, which has validity and reliability…

The high prevalence of dementia in individuals with Down's syndrome has led learning disability services in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley (HRV) area to develop a screening service to address this need; this paper offers reflections upon this process by its members after the first 12 months of operation. A multidisciplinary team comprising…

Access to learning disability services in England is often governed by eligibility criteria. A semistructured questionnaire was completed by clinical psychologists in the north-west of England about service eligibility criteria and psychologists' role within the referral process to learning disability services. The survey highlighted both…