This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Lunsky, Y. Articles by Gracey, C. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lunsky, Y. Articles by Gracey, C. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The reported experience of four women with intellectual disabilities receiving emergency psychiatric services in Canada

A qualitative study

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario, Canada, Yona_Lunsky{at}camh.net

Carolyn Gracey

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario, Canada

Hospital emergency departments are not well prepared to meet the needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Negative experiences can be very traumatic, particularly when the emergency visit is because of a behavioural or psychiatric problem. A focus group study was conducted in 2005 in Toronto, Canada with four women with intellectual disabilities who had paid repeated visits to their local emergency department due to a psychiatric or behavioural crisis. These women spoke about not feeling respected, the trauma of being restrained physically or chemically, and about hospital staff not being comfortable working with women with intellectual disabilities. Clinical implications are discussed and recommendations are presented to improve the experience of women who require emergency services in the future.

Key Words: emergency department • intellectual disability • restraints • trauma • women

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. 13, No. 2, 87-98 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1744629509336483


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?