TY - JOUR PY - 2009// TI - The reported experience of four women with intellectual disabilities receiving emergency psychiatric services in Canada JO - Journal of intellectual disabilities A1 - Gracey, Carolyn D. A1 - Lunsky, Yona SP - 87 EP - 98 VL - 13 IS - 2 N2 - Hospital emergency departments are not well prepared to meet the needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Negative experiences can be very traumatic, particularly when the emergency visit is because of a behavioural or psychiatric problem. A focus group study was conducted in 2005 in Toronto, Canada with four women with intellectual disabilities who had paid repeated visits to their local emergency department due to a psychiatric or behavioural crisis. These women spoke about not feeling respected, the trauma of being restrained physically or chemically, and about hospital staff not being comfortable working with women with intellectual disabilities. Clinical implications are discussed and recommendations are presented to improve the experience of women who require emergency services in the future.

LA - SN - 1744-6295 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1744629509336483 ID - ref1 ER -