Journal article
Specialized Inpatient Unit for Adults with Co-Morbid Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability, and Challenging Behavior
Journal of health and human services administration, Vol.45(1), pp.24-44
06/22/2022
DOI: 10.37808/jhhsa.45.1.2
Abstract
Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) often experience barriers accessing appropriate and effective healthcare. Our specialty program was established to provide interdisciplinary services across the continuum of care to patients with ID, co-morbid mental illness, and challenging behaviors by identifying the etiology of challenging behaviors and creating a comprehensive plan for treatment. We describe the structure of our inpatient specialty unit and a retrospective chart review completed to evaluate the combined impact on the prevalence of challenging behaviors as measured by the Aberrant Behaviors Checklist (ABC) and polypharmacy. Fifty-five patients were evaluated before and one month following 72 corresponding hospitalizations. Mean ABC scores improved from 69.5 to 54.7 (p=.02) with decreases in subscales for irritability, lethargy, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech but not stereotypy. Total psychotropic medication use was reduced from a mean of 4.9 to 3.8 medications (p<.001). Our specialized interdisciplinary treatment approach appears to benefit many patients with complex needs. Key Words: Intellectual disability; Inpatient; Psychiatric; Interdisciplinary team; Mental illness; Challenging behavior Points for Practitioners: * Interdisciplinary teams play an essential role when conducting comprehensive chart reviews and formulating comprehensive treatment plans for complex patients. * A combination of mental health, medical illness, behavioral phenotype, side effects of medications, and environmental variables contribute to the presentation of challenging behaviors in patients with ID. * Overall improvements to challenging behaviors were noted after inpatient hospitalization and interdisciplinary collaboration was utilized on a specialized psychiatric unit.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Specialized Inpatient Unit for Adults with Co-Morbid Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability, and Challenging Behavior
- Creators
- Kelly M VinquistShannon R WaltersJess G FiedorowiczJodi Tate
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of health and human services administration, Vol.45(1), pp.24-44
- Publisher
- Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, Inc
- DOI
- 10.37808/jhhsa.45.1.2
- ISSN
- 1079-3739
- eISSN
- 2168-5509
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/22/2022
- Description audience
- Academic
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; Epidemiology; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984296253002771
Metrics
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