TY - JOUR
T1 - The experiences of outreach support staff working with people with mild intellectual disabilities during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
T2 - A qualitative study
AU - Vromans, Laura
AU - Den Boer, Maria C.
AU - Frielink, Noud
AU - Embregts, Petri J. C. M.
N1 - This research received no external funding
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the work of professionals who support people with intellectual disabilities. This study aimed to explore the experiences of outreach support staff supporting people with mild intellectual disabilities in the Netherlands during different phases of the pandemic between March 2020 and May 2021. Overall, seven outreach support staff from three intellectual disability services participated in this qualitative study. Using semi-structured interviews, participants were interviewed on three occasions between December 2020 and May 2021. A thematic analytical framework was used to analyze the interviews. Four overarching themes could be distinguished based on the data: (1) balancing between one’s professional and personal life; (2) vaccination as both a stress reducer and a source of agitation; (3) service users: vulnerable versus resilient; and (4) contact with colleagues and service users. These themes provided valuable insights into the experiences of outreach support staff during different phases of the pandemic, both in the enduring impact of the pandemic and its measures on support staff, as well as in terms of how the pandemic and its preventive measures impacted their profession.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the work of professionals who support people with intellectual disabilities. This study aimed to explore the experiences of outreach support staff supporting people with mild intellectual disabilities in the Netherlands during different phases of the pandemic between March 2020 and May 2021. Overall, seven outreach support staff from three intellectual disability services participated in this qualitative study. Using semi-structured interviews, participants were interviewed on three occasions between December 2020 and May 2021. A thematic analytical framework was used to analyze the interviews. Four overarching themes could be distinguished based on the data: (1) balancing between one’s professional and personal life; (2) vaccination as both a stress reducer and a source of agitation; (3) service users: vulnerable versus resilient; and (4) contact with colleagues and service users. These themes provided valuable insights into the experiences of outreach support staff during different phases of the pandemic, both in the enduring impact of the pandemic and its measures on support staff, as well as in terms of how the pandemic and its preventive measures impacted their profession.
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - Humans
KW - Intellectual Disability/epidemiology
KW - Netherlands/epidemiology
KW - Pandemics
KW - Qualitative Research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146475350&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph20021515
DO - 10.3390/ijerph20021515
M3 - Article
C2 - 36674269
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 2
M1 - 1515
ER -