Dissemination of evidence-based practice to frontline staff working in the field of intellectual disability: An evaluation of training protocols, intervention compliance, and generalisation.

Abstract

Individuals with intellectual disabilities have the right to the highest standard of service provision. However, reports indicate that the practice of hiring personnel without suitable professional qualifications, is a significant concern within the social care sector in the Republic of Ireland (Joint Committee on Social Care Professionals, 2002; Power & Lavelle, 2011). Therefore, the goal of this research programme was to identify a method to effectively disseminate evidence-based practice to professionals working in the field of intellectual disability. Firstly, a training needs analysis was conducted among a representative sample of frontline staff and service users within one of the largest providers of intellectual disability services in the Republic of Ireland. The purpose of the training needs analysis was to obtain a broad, comprehensive analysis of the diagnostic, adaptive functioning and behavioural profiles of the service users, as well as the training needs of staff providing direct care to these individuals. Results demonstrated a disconnect between the training received by staff and the adaptive and behavioural needs of the service users. These data were subsequently used to develop a staff training programme, which targeted evidence-based practices matched to the needs of service users in the host organisation. Following a pilot study, a randomised control trial design was used to compare the newly developed Behaviour Skills Training intervention with a wait list control condition. Participants in the intervention condition demonstrated improved performance on knowledge assessments and this improvement maintained over a 4-week period. Participants in the control condition did not demonstrate such an improvement. Target skill acquisition and subsequent generalisation to the workplace environment were also observed among participants in the intervention condition.