Psychiatric inpatient admissions and discharges of people with intellectual disabilities: A time series analysis of English national data.

BACKGROUND: We examined whether a series of variables were related to the number of psychiatric inpatients using publicly available data about English psychiatric bed utilisation and NHS workforce. METHOD: Using linear regression, with auto-regressive errors, we examined relationships between variables over time using data from December 2013 to March 2021. RESULTS: Over time, the number of inpatients reduced by either 6.58 or 8.07 per month depending upon the dataset utilised, and the number of community nurses and community nursing support staff reduced by 7.43 and 2.14 nurses per month, respectively. Increasing numbers of consultant psychiatrists were associated with fewer inpatients over time. More care and treatment reviews (CTRs) were associated with more admissions over time, while more post-admission CTRs were associated with increased discharges over time. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should examine whether psychiatric bed utilisation elsewhere within the NHS by people with intellectual disabilities has increased.

The Experiences of Carers of Adults With Intellectual Disabilities During the First COVID-19 Lockdown Period.

Background: The recent COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread international restrictions, severely impacting on health and social care services. For many individuals with an intellectual disability (ID) this meant reduced access to services and support for them and their carers. Aim: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the ways parents of adults with ID coped during the first 2020 lockdown period. Methods: Eight parents of adults with ID were interviewed. The recordings of these interviews were subjected to a thematic analysis. Results: Four main themes were identified: powerless and unappreciated; coping under lockdown; support; and the impact of lockdown on well-being. Conclusions: The parents of adults with ID who made up our sample reported that they received little support from services and experienced a sense of powerlessness. Nevertheless, they were open to accepting support from family and friends and showed remarkable resilience. These findings are discussed in the light of the Willner et al. (2020) survey results on parental mental health and coping, and suggestions for future service provision during pandemic conditions are proposed.

The experiences of mothers of children and young people with intellectual disabilities during the first COVID-19 lockdown period.

BACKGROUND: Recent COVID-19 lockdown restrictions resulted in reduced access to educational, professional and social support systems for children with intellectual disabilities and their carers. AIM: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the ways mothers of children with intellectual disabilities coped during the first 2020 lockdown period. METHODS: Eight mothers of children with intellectual disabilities were interviewed. The recordings of these interviews were subjected to a thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified: carrying the burden; a time of stress; and embracing change and looking to the future. CONCLUSIONS: All mothers experienced increased burden and stress. However, some also described some positive impact of lockdown conditions on them as well as on their child's well-being and behaviour. These findings are discussed in the light of the (Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 33, 2020, 1523) survey results on parental coping and suggestions for future service provision during pandemic conditions are proposed.

The development of information processing biases in childhood anxiety: a review and exploration of its origins in parenting.

The aim of this paper is to explore parenting as one potential route through which information processing biases for threat develop in children. It reviews information processing biases in childhood anxiety in the context of theoretical models and empirical research in the adult anxiety literature. Specifically, it considers how adult models have been used and adapted to develop a theoretical framework with which to investigate information processing biases in children. The paper then considers research which specifically aims to understand the relationship between parenting and the development of information processing biases in children. It concludes that a clearer theoretical framework is required to understand the significance of information biases in childhood anxiety, as well as their origins in parenting.