Unmet Healthcare and Social Services Needs of Older Canadian Adults With Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The authors sought to create a demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related profile of older (40+) Canadian adults with developmental disabilities (DD) residing in their communities, and to enhance current knowledge of their unmet health and social support services needs. They provide a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2001 and 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Surveys (PALS). The study population comprised PALS respondents who: (a) were at least 40 years of age at the time of the survey and (b) were reported having a DD. Weighted data were used to describe and compare the profiles of the study population and the comparison group (PALS respondents age 40+ with other types of disability), and to estimate the prevalence of reported unmet healthcare and social support services needs. Logistic regression analyses determined the extent to which these needs affected the target population's overall health status. The data revealed that an estimated 136,570 Canadians age 15+ reported having a DD in 2006. Of these, 66,560 (48.7%) were at least 40 years of age. An estimated 47.7% of this population rated their overall health status as either fair or poor. The prevalence of reported unmet healthcare and social services needs decreased between 2001 and 2006 for both study groups, but it was still much higher for older individuals with DD than for the comparison group in 2001 and 2006. Controlling for the effects of all the other factors, the authors found that reported unmet needs did not significantly affect respondents' overall health status. The authors concluded that compared to Canadians with other types of disability, those with DD were more likely to report unmet healthcare and social support services needs. Further research is needed to explore policies and programs which support the healthy and active aging of this population.

Ageing, end-of-life care, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme: What can we learn from overseas?

“…Many states in Australia use advance care directives, which are documents where an individual defines precisely what medical treatment may or may not be performed in the event they are unable to articulate their choices or desires due to illness or other incapacity (e.g., NSW Health, 2005), and these initially appear quite similar to a POLST. However, where a POLST differs is that it details exactly what will happen regardless of whether the individual is incapacitated (which is a key component of advance care directives), and that it is legally binding for not just doctors but also the wider health network including paramedics (POLST, 2014). This distinction allows care staff to report a potentially life-threatening situation to emergency services, thus fulfilling their obligations to Danielle's Law, but to also ensure that no action is taken if this is so outlined in the POLST.…”

“…In the 21st century people with intellectual disability have a higher life expectancy than at any previous time in recorded history (Shooshtari, Naghipur, & Zhang, 2012), and as a cohort are now living well into adulthood and old age as a result of improved access to care and timely medical diagnosis and health management (Haveman et al, 2010). Although this significant improvement in life span (e.g., Bittles et al, 2002;Coppus, 2013) is obviously a great outcome, in Australia there is uncertainty among carers, government, and organisations regarding the best mechanisms and models for supporting both ageing and end-of-life care for people with an intellectual disability.…”

Stakeholders’ Perspectives towards the Use of the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities in Manitoba

“…The survey identified that no specific tools were being used for these comprehensive health assessments (Shooshtari et al . ).…”

Using Healthcare Services: Perspectives of Community‐Dwelling Aging Adults With Intellectual Disabilities and Family Members

“…Despite living longer, individuals with ID may have higher rates of co-morbidities and obesity than the general population (Coppus, 2013;World Health Organization, 2000) and those with Down syndrome may experience young-onset dementia (McCarron et al, 2013). Furthermore, older adults with ID tend to rate their overall health lower than other adults with disabilities (Shooshtari, Naghipur, & Zhang, 2012).…”