Search

Background: Internships may be a successful pathway for increasing employment rates among people with intellectual disability. This paper presents a summative evaluation of a brief film internship program for people with intellectual disability. Method: At the commencement and conclusion of the internship, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight interns and 10 mentors. The interview material was analysed thematically. Results: Five themes described the experiences of interns: enhancing intern skill development and recognising gaps, building intern confidence, providing interns with assistance, meeting interns' expectations of the program, and working towards ongoing employment. Four themes were present in the discussions with mentors: drawing on previous experience with people with disability and mentoring roles, feeling confident in a mentor role, providing mentors with support, and reflecting on interns' future job prospects. Conclusion: Although the program developed interns' skills and confidence, an expanded program appears needed to generate open employment outcomes.

Summary: With the increasing prevalence of obesity placing additional demands on healthcare systems, many jurisdictions and professional bodies have developed clinical practice guidelines to support practitioners in the management of people with overweight and obesity. This scoping review aimed to identify key features of contemporary guidelines for the clinical management of overweight and obesity. Searches of MEDLINE, Guidelines International Network's international guidelines library, and other grey literature sources identified 38 guidelines of 18 countries and one region published since 2010. Guidelines were developed by committees (n = 36, 95%) that comprised knowledgeable experts (n = 36, 95%) and were multidisciplinary (n = 33, 87%), with limited consumer representation (n = 11, 29%). Guideline documentation incorporated review questions (n = 23, 61%), systematic reviews (n = 25, 66%), evidence grading systems (n = 33, 87%), processes for reaching consensus (n = 19, 50%), and guideline review details (n = 28, 74%). Treatment approaches included in most guidelines were nutrition and physical activity (n = 38, 100%), psychology (n = 37, 97%), pharmacotherapy (n = 32, 84%), and bariatric surgery (n = 31, 82%). Most guidelines targeted populations based on age (n = 30, 79%). Guidelines contained recommendations for pregnancy (n = 12, 32%), older adults (n = 9, 24%), and people with eating disorders (n = 8, 21%). Future guidelines would benefit from involvement of consumers including groups known to be at increased risk of overweight and obesity, targeted guidance for at risk groups, and consideration of weight bias and stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many offenders with intellectual disabilities have substance use issues. Offending behaviour may be associated with substance use. Materials and Methods: Prisoners with and without intellectual disabilities were compared in terms of their substance use prior to imprisonment, the influence of substance use on offending, and their participation in alcohol and drug treatment programmes. Results: Substance use was similar in prisoners with and without intellectual disabilities in the year prior to their current prison terms. Prisoners with intellectual disabilities were much less likely to report that substance use was an antecedent to the offences leading to their imprisonment. The completion rate of alcohol and drug treatment programmes was much lower for those with intellectual disabilities. Conclusions: Substance use may be as common in prisoners with intellectual disabilities as those without this condition. Services may need to reflect on whether their treatment programmes are meeting the needs of all prisoners.

Although physical activity can have substantial mental and physical health benefits, people with cerebral palsy usually lead sedentary lives. To understand, at an individual level, this inactivity, we interviewed a 29-year-old minimally active woman with cerebral palsy (Alana) about the meanings and experiences of physical activity throughout her life. Using a case-study approach, we found that Alana had adverse childhood experiences with physical activity, including: having to perform difficult, and sometimes painful, physiotherapy; wearing callipers to assist her walking; demonstrating limited competence at physical activity; being excluded from physical education and other organised physical activity at school; and feeling socially isolated from her classmates. These experiences seemed to contribute to feelings of difference/inferiority and the subsequent avoidance of physical activity, which, in turn, might have contributed to premature functional decline. Physical activity levels in people with cerebral palsy might be increased through focusing on enhancing childhood experiences.

We used a life-history approach to investigate the meanings and experiences of physical activity in the life of a 25-year-old woman with severe cerebral palsy (Amy). Amy and her mother were interviewed about Amy's life and her involvement in physical activity. The conversation was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We interpreted Amy's story using psychodynamic theory. Although Amy enjoyed learning to walk, she developed a sense of inferiority on entering the school environment because her skills did not compare favourably with those of her classmates without disabilities. Despite these negative experiences, Amy became more physically active as an adult than she had been as a child and as an adolescent, with the intention of delaying further functional decline, to stay socially connected to the people around her and to gain self-esteem through displaying competence at physical tasks. For Amy, engaging in physical activity was intimately tied to psychosocial growth, especially as a young adult. Further research should be conducted to investigate whether this relationship between physical activity and psychosocial growth is present in the lives of other people with disabilities.

Background: The ENGAGE (efficacy of a referral and physical activity program for survivors of prostate cancer) study established that a clinician referral and 12-week exercise training program increased vigorous physical activity at 12 weeks among men with prostate cancer. Here, we report the 6- and 12-month outcomes. Methods: In this multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial, we compared a clinician referral and exercise training program to usual care. Discounted gym membership was offered to men in the intervention condition on completion of the 12-week exercise program. Self-reported physical activity at 6 and 12 months was the primary outcome. Quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were secondary outcomes. Results: A total of 147 men meeting eligibility criteria agreed to participate (54 intervention, 93 control). A positive interaction effect for vigorous physical activity was observed at 6 months, but not 12 months. No significant effects for the secondary outcomes were found. Conclusion: A clinician referral and community-based supervised and unsupervised exercise training program, along with discounted gym membership, had a positive short-term effect on vigorous physical activity levels, but did not improve quality of life, in men with prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]