Online Health Literacy Resources for People With Intellectual Disability: A Grey Literature Scoping Review

People with intellectual disability experience higher rates of physical and mental health problems than those without intellectual disability. Health literacy includes accessing, understanding, appraising and applying health information. Improving health literacy is associated with better health outcomes. The internet is a primary source of health information for many people. This study aimed to evaluate available online health resources for people with intellectual disability and their families to understand information gaps.

A scoping review of grey literature was conducted using two searches: a targeted search of disability organisation websites and an advanced Google search using key terms. The methods were guided by a modified version of Arksey and O'Malley's methodological approach.

A total of 1165 health resources for people with intellectual disability and their families were identified. Tests, checks and procedures were the most common category of health addressed (n = 227, 19.5%) and most content was directed at the individual with intellectual disability (n = 837, 71.9%). Resources addressed the health literacy domains of accessing (n = 1165, 100%) and understanding (n = 1132, 97.2%) information more often than appraising (n = 575, 49.5%) and applying (n = 415, 35.6%).

Improving the health literacy of people with intellectual disability is an important part of addressing health disparities and requires understanding of the available information. Some information gaps were identified, including limited sexual health resources and mental health resources for adolescents.