Improving the General Health of People with Learning Disabilities - Essay Example

xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx IMPROVING THE GENERALHEALTH OF PEOPLE WITH LEAERNING DISABILITIES xxxxxxxxxxx :xxxxxxxxxxxx Date : xxxxxxxxxxxx ABSTRACT An outsized numeral of people in the world live with learning disabilities that increases their common morbidity, causes a high case of epilepsy, brings about communication difficulties and other common related health issues. Unfortunately the needs of these people has been echo by uninterrupted image of poor health support uptake, lack of satisfactory care for morbidity, lack of good and proper to health care and un familiar health needs. As Gates (2009) a product there has been a great discrepancy flanked by the health of the common community and that of the learning persons with disabilities. The mental health, consequences of behavior on health and epilepsy management of these patients is focused mostly by psychiatrics who addresses the discrepancy in clinical health and practices. Introduction Inequalities in health status The achievement of better health is an apposite goal for all, including those with learning disabilities. Characters with learning disabilities are heterogeneous in nature and exhibits needs that vary. The impact of environmental and social factors on health matters is definitely bigger in these groups. Gates (2009) Improved health is likely to improve the quality of lives of the families and individuals of the affected population, thus the need to remove great differences between those learning with disabilities and the public population will be strong. I will in this article discuss the areas that need to be improved for the learning-disabled which are high in disparities among healthy care related matters. Some of these include: A distinction in health as a result of increased mortality, morbidity, rise in negative decider of health such as increased poverty and a variation in health care as a result of unequal and inequality of health services to the learning-disabled.(Fraser 1998:293) I will focus on the issues and details that must be considered in order to make the necessary improvements in health matters. I consider tackling five areas in particular, which include: health needs the disparity in health, barriers to better health, health provision in primary care and fully addressing the disparity in the health care for the learning-disabled. Disparity in health The issue of indifference of health care Gates (2009) must be addressed in order to reach an appropriate development in health to the same level of health care that the public population enjoys. Inequalities in health care and access were an issue of health disparity in the past, as minor ethnic groups were the most affected between the population and the groups in health care facilities. Recently, Surgeon (2002) has focused their interest on disparity for those with learning disabilities. This concept adds a spotlight to the appropriate planning of services. However some difficulties are present particularly when intending to allow for the effects of etiology of the recipients disability on any obvious disparity. For instance, Gates (2009) relentless advances in accident prevention measures, in treatment induced abnormalities and cases of epilepsy may cause a reduction in disparity in various groups among the population. Health needs Welsh (1996) suggest that citizens with learning disabilities have mutual specific and general health needs. This should be provided within the primary health care environment. Common morbidities occur at greater frequencies that arise from professional health needs that are related with definite medical conditions. The conditions are not one of their kinds to individuals with learning disabilities as they have a high prevalence in the population resulting in an important part of health assessment. This has brought to the table that a consensus can be of; sensory deficit, epilepsy and disturbance in the behavior and psychology among the learning-disabled group. Sensory deficit- people with learning disabilities portray a high level of sensory destruction. McCullough (1996) suggest that 12% were mildly disabled, 40%wee severely disabled and 100% had profoundly been affected by poor visual aid. Kwok (1996) notes that disabled children and adolescents suffers from; loss of hearing, refractive errors and visual impairment. Epilepsy- this condition is greatly reflected in the extremes of learning disabilities and prevalence in the changes in literature. Learning institutional that have high population no students possess these students that are affected by learning disabilities. A recent study of those individuals that are affected by epilepsy in learning institutions has reached 16%. Syndrome- conditions- This condition is associated with the risks of increased cardiovascular symptoms and disease, respiratory disease, leukemia, eye disorders and hypothyroids. Those that possesses light x syndrome have increased connective tissue disease which causes the victim to suffer major joint laxity accompanied with cardiac abnormalities. Mortality and learning disability- Gates (2009) high mortality rate as seen in standard ratio and reduced life expectancy is common among people that have problem with learning, as compared to the general population of the country. Causes of mortality include Down’s syndrome and feeding problems. (Strauss, 1998). It is seen that learning disabled people that suffers from epilepsy have a higher risk of suffering from rapid and unsolved death. Barriers to health care A probable cause of the inequality between the concerns of people with learning disabilities and that of the general public is the main cause to barriers in good health care. There are several barriers that play a role in worsens the situation of offering good health care mostly in disparity. The doctors need to recognize these barriers and reduce them where possible. Mobility- recent reports shows that 12% of working people in offices lacked the capacity to access health services. Sensory impairment- this may reduce the ability of patients going for appointments without being accompanied. This greatly reduces the understanding of health processes thus making it difficult to present disease leading to reduced forthcoming skills and also the poor communicative of health skills and professionals. Behavior problems- this blocks the diagnosis of health conditions. IASSID Guidelines (2001) suggests that epilepsy may raise doubts as to whether one is suffering from a case of seizure. Knowledge, attitudes and specialist services- these plays great part in bringing attitudinal hindrance to good health care. Lennox (1997) researched that the Australian physicians of primary care acknowledge that lack they lacked enough knowledge of the condition that is accompanied by learning disabilities as one of the top barriers to good health care of the affected population. Primary care in health condition The examination carried out at a particular community with people living with learning disabilities that were seeking primary care constantly suffered other serious complications which included: Untreated condition that is capable of being treated by medical conditions. Untreated specific health issues that relates to the disability of the individual as well as lack of uptake of broad health sponsorship such as blood – pressure screening. (Wilson 1996: 300). The lack of taking charge of data in these first studies minimizes their impacts as it is not possible to know which aspects have the disability related condition. Whitefield (1996) says that these surveys might have a reflection on the generic problems in the delivery of a good primary health. He also used the controlled assessment data that allowed for comparative information on health promotion, status and activity. A wide level of obesity, hearing and vision impairment, skin disease, endocrine disease, hypersonic and psychiatrist disorders were found to be common in Australia. Women who did not suffer the Down’s syndrome in particular showed lack of insufficient exercise as they exhibited an increase in hypertension. Whitefield (1996) proves that population norms were used to control the population by the National Heart Foundation team survey. He compared a general sample of teaching disabled people whom were taken from the registry system of a primary health care facility. This study resulted in the discovery of major increases in the administration of antipsychotic and anticonvulsant medication and a rise in the number of those who were taking consultations for neurological skin conditions among those that had learning disabilities. The population that was being controlled had a chance of being able to receive frequent blood pressure monitoring. Through these studies, it is clear that there is inadequate concern of health support to those with learning disabilities. In contrast, lack of primary health team have not been a cause to those factors, as Kerr (1996) researched and proved that in the UK and USA, a majority of those population that suffered from learning disabilities visited the primary health care more frequent and some event went as far as being hospitalized, hence inadequate lack of primary health care was not a full barrier to improving status of the learning- disabled population. (Fraser 1998:293) Addressing the disparity To minimize the difference between the healths of people with learning disabilities in response to those that do not have from the general population, I must consider discussing two key primary areas: primary care and professional psychiatrist care. Primary care- this is essential to humanizing the health of the people with learning disabilities as it has been noted that the primary care is inadequate. Assessment This enables a physician to know the impending and the morbidity support and it is I many clinics around. The clinic should follow a controlled assessment that includes the assessment of then first complainant and also the gratitude and evaluation of morbidity and the credit of the of the health approval status. Practice organization In other countries like England, the health care policy was directed by the Government White paper that identified and valued the enhanced health care facility to people. Chadwick (1996: 20) Practice registers. These practices must be able to identify those individuals that have learning disabilities thus it requires a wide-ranging practice registers. Common conditions such as Downs’ syndrome make it easy to identify patients through registers or by asking ground personnel. The aim of establishing a register is to enhance the quickness of name recordings. Recall and audit This is vital and necessary in accessing health promotion. The occurrence of health action is a proper topic for auditing. (Fraser 1998:293) suggests that recall covers physical examination, health promotion and morbidity precisely to learning-disabled people such as those suffering from epilepsy or any behavioral turbulence. Contact with the other services Practices must ensure that the amount of contacts with and models of recommendation to disability services and health conveniences are clearly reputable and recorded. Clinical competence Primary care health experts will need skills exactly to the care of people with learning disabilities, such as health assessment, communication and ethics, health promotion measurement of needs for transfer patterns for compound pathology and also the management of specific skills like epilepsy. Chadwick (1996: 20). In addition to these measures, the government enacted a policy that gives the learning-disabled people the right to access conventional health services, the learning and disabled people should have at least an a health facilitator that identifies them by 2003. They should have also been registered by a general practitioner by 2004, and adopt their own Health action plan by 2005. Chadwick (1996: 20) Specialist psychiatrist care This care primarily provides precisely psychiatric assessment and treatment. Key clinical needs are required especially when medical and psychiatric needs combine. Physical disease from psychiatric symptoms presents the importance necessary competence in learning-disabilities. This is mostly viewed when pain comes as agitation. Depressive symptoms may be mimicked by continual pain and anorexia accompanied with reflux esophagi and gastric ulcer disease. These conditions must be well attended by the psychiatric as they are health and life endanger, thus will make it suitable for the learning-disabled people adopt well to the learning environment which will be associated with good health care treatment and administration of people with learning disabilities: Chadwick (1996: 20) • Faces obscurity in accepting what is happening around them, and are also presented with partial information regarding certain issues and topics around their environment and they do not consider being concerned in the planning and decisions which have taken place from their perspective side. They lack access of information for other people with learning disabilities which they could have read and understood their positions and conditions more clearly. They often encounter confusion and fear that may arise from the limited enlightenment and uncertainty of what is happening or about to happen. Most of them undertake deficient consideration that is given in making reasonable adjustment in various aspects of life for instance in detailing communication harms, difficulty in visual understanding and enacting, plus the constant anxieties that they demonstrate day by day. Conclusion Extensive verification points to a lack of correspondence among the health of people with learning disabilities and also that of the general population as whole. Psychiatric put into practice what can be innermost to restructuring these circumstances. Psychiatric involvement for widespread psychological infirmity and composite conduct troubles in learning disability can have an undeviating contact on physical condition standing. Conceivably, the most imperative purpose of psychiatric practitioners in this quarter is to perform as catalysts, and spearheading of broad-spectrum health enhancement by smoothing the advancement of patients’ right to use to the apposite passageway to provide better health care for the learning- disabled in the society. Equal at no means mean the same: egalitarianism for a patient with a learning disability does not automatically connote treating them in the equivalent approach. This may indicate a sense of giving and offering supplementary and unconventional schemes of prop up conventional with the patient or their families/livelihood in order to accomplish an encouraging conclusion to the improvement and better provision of proper and adequate health care facility from the primary care to the tertiary care for the better of the individuals that have been affected with the demise of learning-disabilities. 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