Evaluation of the effectiveness of a person-centred planning intervention in assessment and treatment units for people with intellectual disabilities

Despite the popularity of person-centred planning, few quantitative studies have evaluated its effectiveness. This service evaluation examined the effectiveness of ‘Planning Live’, a person-centred planning intervention, in two assessment and treatment units (ATUs) for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), using routinely collected Health of The Nation Outcome Scales-Learning Disability (HoNOS-LD) data. Although previous qualitative research found that Planning Live was seen as helpful by individuals, families and professionals, we found that Planning Live was not associated with additional improvements in HoNOS-LD outcomes. We discuss these results, reflect on the inherent difficulties of evaluating person-centred planning interventions quantitatively, and make suggestions for future research.