Emergency Psychiatric Services for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities: Caregivers’ Perspectives

Background Strains on the mental health system and inaccessible services for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) often force caregivers to bring individuals with ID to the emergency department (ED) when in psychiatric crisis. The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of caregivers and adults with ID and mental health issues, according to caregivers’ perspectives. Method Focus groups were conducted with one group of unpaid caregivers (i.e. family members) and two groups of paid caregivers (i.e. staff from community agencies) from Ontario, Canada. Results Caregivers identified a number of issues centering on a lack of services, on respect, on knowledge and on expertise. Diagnostic overshadowing and overmedication were also prevalent concerns. Conclusions Input from caregivers points to deficiencies in the system that lead them to use the ED when other options have been exhausted. A number of recommendations can be implemented to improve the emergency psychiatric care of adults with ID in the ED.