Smoking behaviors of adults with developmental disabilities and their direct support professional providers

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-465
Author(s):  
Kendall A. Leser ◽  
Phyllis L. Pirie ◽  
Amy K. Ferketich ◽  
Susan M. Havercamp ◽  
Mary Ellen Wewers
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Direct Support ◽  
Smoking Behaviors ◽  
Direct Support Professional ◽  
Adults With Developmental Disabilities

scholarly journals Better Together: A Pilot Study on Cooking Matters for Adults With Developmental Disabilities and Direct Support Professionals

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 117863881984003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley R Barnhart ◽  
Susan M Havercamp ◽  
Allison Lorenz ◽  
Emily A Yang
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Nutrition Knowledge ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Balanced Diet ◽  
Direct Support ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Direct Support Professionals ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Adults With Developmental Disabilities

Adults with developmental disabilities face barriers to making healthy lifestyle choices that mirror the barriers faced by the direct support professionals who serve them. These two populations, direct support professionals and adults with developmental disabilities, are likely to lead inactive lifestyles, eat unhealthy diets, and be obese. Moreover, direct support professionals influence the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and health behaviors of the adults with developmental disabilities whom they serve. We piloted a cooking-based nutrition education program, Cooking Matters for Adults, to dyads of adults with developmental disabilities (n = 8) and direct support professionals (n = 7). Team-taught by a volunteer chef and nutrition educator, Cooking Matters for Adults uses an active learning approach to teach food preparation safety skills and nutrition knowledge to inform healthy food and beverage choices. We assessed healthy food preparation, intake of a balanced diet, healthy food and beverage choices, and cooking confidence and barriers at pre-test, post-test, and 6-months after the intervention. Among both adults with developmental disabilities and direct support professionals, positive trends in healthy food preparation, eating a balanced diet, and reduction in cooking barriers were observed at post-test and 6-months. We also qualitatively assessed knowledge of and attitudes toward healthy eating, frequency of food and beverage intake, knowledge about kitchen skills and safety, as well as overall satisfaction, cooking confidence, and acceptability of the dyad approach. Participants with developmental disabilities and direct support professionals reported that they learned about healthy food and beverage choices and various cooking skills. Participants reported confidence in skills learned and were satisfied with the intervention and approach of including adults with developmental disabilities and direct support professionals in the intervention together.

The Impact of Direct Support Professional Turnover on the Health and Safety of People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Inclusion ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Carli Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Emergency Room Visits ◽  
Direct Support ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Direct Support Professional ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Direct support professional (DSP) turnover significantly impacts both human service providers and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This study explored how DSP turnover impacts people with IDD's health and safety. We analyzed secondary data regarding DSP turnover and health and safety (i.e., emergency room visits, incidents of abuse and neglect, injuries, and behavioral events) from a random sample of 251 people with IDD. Findings revealed, regardless of their support needs, people who experienced DSP turnover had more emergency room visits, experienced more instances of abuse and neglect, and had more injuries than people who did not experience DSP turnover. Our findings suggest extended tenure of DSPs can help promote the health and safety of people with IDD.

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