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What Makes Community Inclusion Work for Older Adults With an Intellectual Disability? An Application of the
L Taggart1, A Campbell1, I Doherty2
1Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
Background:
Older adults with intellectual disability experience high levels of loneliness and social exclusion. MATILDA is a community-based intervention supporting participation in mainstream community groups through volunteer mentors.
Aim:
To use Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) to explore the processes, mechanisms, and barriers influencing implementation and sustainability.
Methods:
A qualitative study (focus groups and interviews with 29 adults with intellectual disability, volunteer mentors, intellectual disability staff, and community-group managers) across two UK sites. Data analysed using an NPT-informed framework.
Findings:
Implementation was supported through sense-making, engagement, collective action, and appraisal. Key mechanisms included Volunteer Co-ordinators, mentor support, participant-group matching, adaptable community groups, and strong relationships. Community inclusion emerged as relational work. Staffing pressures, transport difficulties, and resource constraints limited participation for some individuals.
Conclusions:
MATILDA shows potential as a sustainable community inclusion intervention. Successful implementation depends on programme components and the relational and organisational work needed to support participation and belonging.
Trial Registration:
ISRCTN, ISRCTN15294181. Registered 20th December 2022, https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15294181.
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