Online social connections and Internet use among people with intellectual disabilities in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having a disability, in particular, an intellectual disability, is associated with Internet non-use. This article explores how people with intellectual disabilities used the Internet across the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April to May 2021, 571 adults with intellectual disabilities were interviewed. Participants most commonly used the Internet for being with family and friends, social media or doing online activities with other people. People who lived with family were the most likely to use social media; people who lived with other people with intellectual disabilities were the least likely. People who self-reported as not lonely were more likely to use the Internet for online activities with others and play video games with others. Social connections were identified as the best thing about the Internet. Many participants chose not to identify a worst thing about Internet use, while others reported issues with technology, online harm and threats to well-being.

'People with intellectual disabilities living in the communities is bad enough let alone having sex': Exploring societal influence on social care workers' attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards support for personal and sexual relationship needs.

BACKGROUND: Services have a duty to uphold the personal and sexual relationship (P&SR) rights of adults with intellectual disability. However, little is known about how social care workers' (SCWs) perceptions of public views of intellectual disability and sexuality might affect their attitudes, believes and behaviours towards supporting P&SR needs. This exploratory study addresses this gap in knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Qualitative interviews using critical incident technique were conducted with 18 SCWs. Data were transcribed and thematically analysed. RESULTS: Four dominant themes were identified; socio-cultural, practice-policy gaps, fear and safety needs. These highlights how perceptions of public attitudes impact on SCWs' attitudes towards supporting development of P&SR both directly and through perceptions of organisational policies. This leads to prioritisation of safety needs over support for P&SR. CONCLUSIONS: Public expectations strongly influenced SCWs' interpretation of organisational policy, emphasising a need for practice-based support to manage public expectations and reduce fear.

Planning for research impact.

BACKGROUND: Several drivers are currently leading to greater emphasis of the importance of ensuring research has impact. Nursing research aims to improve patient care, safety and well-being, so it might be assumed results with the potential to effect such changes would automatically have an impact on clinical practice. However, experience suggests this is not the case and careful attention is needed for there to be an impact. AIM: To present the example of a project commissioned to develop a health communication tool to support people with learning disabilities in accessing healthcare. DISCUSSION: The authors explore the importance of a planned approach to impact by referencing existing frameworks and providing examples of strategies used in the project. They also discuss the importance of framing the question using a range of approaches to actively engage stakeholders and of using diverse strategies to embed the development in practice. CONCLUSION: A planned approach is required to maximise impact from research. Planning and associated actions need to start at the very beginning of the research project and continue beyond the point of delivering the project report. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This paper relates to a specific context and patient group but the principles discussed are transferable to other clinical settings and patient groups.