Disability And Sexuality And Social Work Practice Social Work Essay

Disability And Sexuality And Social Work Practice Social Work EssayThere is a growing recognition of the need to provide sex education to people with scholarship disabilities, as easy as their right to achieve such education. scorn a desire to help with this, social workers and other health professionals bottom lack the confidence and tools to deliver sex education to this population. In an effort to store evidence of best practice thus far, a narrative study of the literature bequeathing be conducted to answer the quest question What interventions ar accessible within social work practice for the delivery of gender education to people with learnedness disabilities? By pointing the happen upon consistencies and inconsistencies across effective interventions, feasible interventions can be established and get on research identify.Background and RationaleIn the past, people with schooling disabilities were excluded from sexual education or help with issues around their sexuality. Fortunately, in modern day society this exclusion is beginning to change, which is in part due to a shift from institutionalised cargon to supported living. This has resulted in an append in independent living as well as a greater acknowledgement of the needs of people with learning disabilities. Furthermore, the myth that people with learning disabilities are eternal children (McCarthy, 1999) no longer holds sway and it is acknowledged that people with learning disabilities are not asexual they have the same needs as people without a learning disability, including needs regarding sexuality.The Sex and Relationships research project, set up in 2007, was particularly influential in challenging the previously amiss(p) beliefs and myths that maintained the exclusion of people with learning disabilities. This was a 3-year research programme conducted by CHANGE (2009), a national organisation that fights for the rights of people with learning disabilities. As part of this pr oject it was found that people with learning disabilities, aged 16-25 years old, shared that they were not told about sex and relationships when they were younger. Furthermore, they also said that if they had been given bust sex education, they might have made different choices as adults. This highlights a clear unmet need experienced by people with learning disabilities, as well as indicates that these unmet needs discriminate individuals via reduced choice in adulthood.Professionals working within the field of learning disabilities, including social workers, remain reluctant to become voluminous in sexuality education due to lack of confidence and lack of availability of educational materials designed for this population (Howard-Barr et al., 2005). They want to support people with learning disabilities, but do not have the information or skills to do so (Garbutt, 2008). Thus, there is a need to establish effective interventions designed to fit social workers and other healthcar e professionals with the personal and professional tools necessary to deliver sex education to people with learning disabilities. This provides the rationale for a narrative review of the literature.Research QuestionThe research question posed from the background literature isWhat interventions are functional within social work practice for the delivery of sexuality education to people with learning disabilities?More specificallyWhat effective interventions are already available?What are the key concepts and theories relevant to effective interventions?How has efficacy of interventions been assessed?What are the key consistencies and inconsistencies across studies?What answers remain?Research Design and MethodsA narrative review of the literature will be conducted in order to identify interventions available within social work practice for the delivery of sexuality education to people with learning disabilities. A narrative review has been selected due to its recommended use with large topics (Collins and Fauser, 2005), and the benefits that derive from being able to include subjective interpretations based on personal experience of social work practice. Social work is a person-centred and holistic discipline that warrants this phenomenological approach. Furthermore, a narrative review can be used to synthesise evidence from both quantitative and qualitative studies, thus benefiting from the strengths of both approaches, the origin of which offers scientific rigour and the latter of which offers subjectivity and depth.The relevant literature will be synthesised through the use of data extraction forms (appendix 1), the identification of key themes and controversies betwixt studies, and the development of a considered narrative for separately key theme.By identifying established knowledge within this area, as well as where gaps in knowledge remain, conclusions will be made on the efficacy of different interventions or techniques that social workers could u tilise in the delivery of sexuality education to people with learning disabilities. inclusion body and Exclusion CriteriaInclusion in this review will be confined to primary research meeting the following additional inclusion criteriaRandomised insure trials (RCTs) control trials prospective pre- and post-test cohort studies qualitative studies.The study needs to be testing or exploring an intervention for the delivery of sexuality education to people with learning disabilities.Population social workers or other healthcare professionals working with people who have learning disabilities.Studies conducted over the last 5 years (2006-2011).In addition, the following exclusion criteria applyStudies conducted before 2006.Non-English studies.Studies that do not meet the pre-defined inclusion criteria.Search StrategyA search of the literature will be undertaken apply Boolean logic, which will allow for a more sensitive search of the title and abstracts of the following databases the Cum ulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health publications (CINAHL), Medline, Embase, PsychINFO and The Cochrane Library of clinical trials. Keywords to be searched include learning disabilities OR learning dis*AND sex* AND educ* OR train* OR interv* OR intervention studies. The truncation symbolism (*) will be applied to search for words that might have various endings (e.g. sex* will find sex, sexuality, sexual).The reference list of all articles that are obtained in full will also be hand-searched for relevant studies. In addition, two key social work journals will be hand-searched from 2010 to 2011 to identify the more or less up to date research in this area British Journal of Social Work and Journal of Social Work.The title and abstracts of all literature determine by the search strategy will be scanned for relevance, with irrelevant or duplicate articles being excluded. All records meeting the pre-defined inclusion criteria will be obtained in full for data extraction. A dat a extraction form recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2010) will be used to awake key details from each of the studies obtained (appendix 1), including study design intervention and, main findings.Synthesis of FindingsThematic content abridgment will be used to identify key themes across studies, followed by the identification of convergent and divergent findings within these key themes (Aveyard, 2010). Narratives will be created for the most prominent themes. A critical analysis of how social work practice could be informed, developed and improved with respect to the evidence obtained from this review will be included, with a specific emphasis on the importance of evidence-based practice.Study Resources, Risks and TimetableInternet databases that provide access to academic peer reviewed journals will be the primary source utilised for searching the literature. The university library will also be a valuable resource for locating learning disability and social work journals that can be hand-searched, as well as providing access to a librarian who can be asked for advice on suitable web-based subject gateways. In addition, the reference lists of reviewed articles are a source of access to further relevant research.Ethical approval will not be required for this review.A timetable for completing this review is presented in Table 1, with the deadline for submitting the reviewing being February 2012.Table 1 Timetable for ReviewActionDates1.Choose research question based on scoping of the literature and consideration of relevant policy.Beginning of March 20112.Conduct a advance literature search to gather information on the background and rationale for review.Mid-March 20113.Develop a review proposal and timetable, including search strategy and inclusion criteria, and so forthEnd of March 20114.Conduct first search of the literature, utilising selected web-based databases, excluding irrelevant or duplicate records and obtaining the full text of remaining records. Complete data extraction forms for each study.April and May 20114.Hand-search selected journals, obtaining the full text of relevant records and completing data extraction forms for each study.June 20115.Hand-search the reference lists of all articles included from the database and journal searches, obtaining the abstract of potential articles of relevance. pretermit those that become irrelevant on closer inspection and obtain the full text of remaining references. Complete data extraction forms for each study.July 20116.Identify the key themes and controversies between studies. Write a narrative for each key theme, including objective discussion of studies and subjective interpretations in relation to experience, knowledge, and social work policy.August and phratry 20117.First draft of introduction and rationale chapter.October 20118.First draft of methods and results.November 20119.First draft of discussion chapter.December 201110.First full draft of review actualise necessary adjustments and finalise.January 201111.Submit final review.February 2012