As the largest public health crisis within a century, the COVID‐19 pandemic has caused long‐term disruption in the support systems of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across the globe. The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges and ameliorative strategies to supporting the basic care needs of people with IDD 1 year into the pandemic, as experienced by nurses who specialize in IDD nursing. We surveyed a convenience sample of 369 nurses from across North America, Europe, and Australasia using a 52‐item online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to rank the greatest challenges and the degree of support available to nurses, and manifest content analysis was used to analyze open‐ended responses related to ongoing challenges and ameliorative strategies. Results of descriptive analyses revealed consistent findings across global regions in terms of the challenges faced by nurses; the greatest challenges related to supporting or enabling socialization with family/friends, ensuring adequate day programming or educational services, identifying/planning alternative entertainment activities, ensuring adequate staffing of familiar support workers and caregivers, and managing challenging behaviors related to change in daily routine and activities. Nurses described a considerable degree of support offered by their organizations in terms of flexibility in scheduling related to family obligations and paid time off for COVID‐19‐related isolation and quarantine. Content analysis of open‐ended survey responses revealed numerous challenges related to: (1) client socialization, meaningful activity, and mental/behavioral health; (2) interpreting, keeping up with, and helping others to understand COVID‐19 guidelines; (3) access to, quality of, and continuity of care; and (4) COVID‐19 fatigue and the influence of time. Overall, our study highlights ongoing issues with access to care and support, exacerbated by the pandemic, and the importance of having meaningful activity and socialization for overall well‐being of people with IDD during a long‐term public health crisis.
Aims
To identify barriers and facilitators to nursing care of individuals with developmental disabilities (DDs).
Background
Individuals with DDs experience health disparities. Nurses, although well positioned to provide optimal care to this population, face challenges.
Design
Narrative review of extant published peer‐reviewed literature.
Data Sources
Electronic databases, ProQuest and EBSCO, were searched for studies published in English between 2000 and 2019.
Review Methods
Three reviewers reviewed abstracts and completed data extraction. Knowledge synthesis was completed by evaluating the 17 selected studies.
Results
Emerging themes were: (1) barriers and challenges to nursing interventions; (2) facilitators to nursing care; and (3) recommendations for nursing education, policy and practice.
Conclusion
Nursing has the potential to be a key partner in supporting the health of people with DDs.
Impact
There is a need for specific education and training, so nurses are better equipped to provide care for people with DDs.
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