Investigating advanced practice for people with intellectual disability and autism: a mixed methods study

Introduction Little is known about the advanced practice contribution health professionals make when working with People with Intellectual Disability and Autism. This paper shares the findings from a study investigating the delivery and impact of two university-led online postgraduate certificates. These programmes specifically focused on preparing health professionals to practice at an advanced level, with people with intellectual disability and autism across the lifespan. Aims The aim was to evaluate the opportunities and challenges the programmes provided, reviewing the online delivery capacity and its usefulness for preparing this group of health professionals at an advanced level across two cohorts of learners. Methods A concurrent mixed methods approach was adopted, collating descriptive and qualitative data virtually between February 2023 and January 2024. Adults with intellectual disability and autism were involved in the panel deciding the outcome of the research tender, as steering group members and as members of a national workforce advisory panel. No computerised software was used for the data analysis. Results Observations from minimal descriptive data, virtual focus group, nine one-to-one interviews, text-based and a jam-board data revealed online pedagogical decisions through multi-professional action learning sets. This supported enhanced practice confidence, enquiry-based practice and inter-professional capability. Conclusions Policy and decision makers should invest in more advanced practice programmes in this field, as they strengthen the care contribution for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Implications for Practice Advanced practice learning can raise both practice confidence levels and improve opportunities for evidence-based service change for a group of people with complex needs. Reporting Method Mixed Methods Reporting in Rehabilitation Health Science.

Citation

Bollard, M., Appleby, B. and Kempson, S. (2025), Investigating Advanced Practice for People With Intellectual Disability and Autism: A Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.17696

Type

Journal article

Language

en

Description

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Wiley. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.17696

ISSN

0962-1067

EISSN

1365-2702

Collections

Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing