Our preventative healthcare research project progresses!

Aruma has made further progress with our five-year project with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to help improve preventative health care for people with an intellectual disability.

Many Aruma participants, their families and support people have provided valuable insight to inform our research so far – thank you!

We are entering the second phase of the project, and our UNSW partner is hoping to hear from more people with an intellectual disability to find out about their experiences with getting and using information to stay healthy. Can you help us?

Who can take part?

You can take part if you are 14 years old or more, have an intellectual disability and are keen to share your experiences getting, understanding and using information to stay healthy. Every participant will receive a $50 voucher for participating, even if you’ve already taken part in the research during the previous phase – win, win!

What is preventative health care?

Preventative health care are things that support people to stay healthy and get better quickly when they are sick or hurt.

What do we know so far?

Although the project is still underway, some early results highlight that:

• The healthcare needs of people with intellectual disability are not properly represented in Australian policies in several key areas, including nutrition, physical activity and immunisations.
• Current healthcare information available on government health websites is difficult to navigate and hard to understand meaning people with intellectual disability may not know how to access preventative health screening.
• People with intellectual disability want more opportunities and support to learn about their healthcare and be involved in decision-making.

How will the study be conducted?

You can contribute by communicating with the UNSW team face-to-face, via video call, telephone, or email.

I would like to participate, so what should I do next?

If you would like to take part in the project or want more information you can contact Maryann Barrington who is a researcher on the project.

To contact Maryann call 02 9065 4445, or email maryann.barrington@unsw.edu.au.

Read previous articles here and here for more information.