Clinical capacity of Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists who work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Davies, Kimberley; Eagleson, Claire; Weise, Janelle; Cvejic, Rachael C; Trollor, Julian N
• Is Part Of: Australasian psychiatry. Volume 27:Number 5(2019:Oct.)
• Page Start: 506
• Page End: 512
• Publication Date: 2019-10
• Subjects: intellectual disability -- developmental disability -- mental health -- psychiatry practice -- psychiatry workforce; Psychiatry -- Australasia -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.89005
• DOI: 10.1177/1039856219859286
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1039-8562

Abstract

Objective: To describe the characteristics and clinical capacity of Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists working in intellectual and developmental disability mental health (IDDMH). Method: Consultant psychiatrists (n=71) with an interest or expertise in IDDMH completed an online survey about their roles, experience and time spent in intellectual developmental disability (IDD)-related activities. Results: Psychiatrists had worked in IDDMH for a median of 11.34 years and half (53.5%) reported expertise in the area. One-fifth of psychiatrists reported IDDMH as their main area of practice. The majority of respondents (85.1%) reported that they were working clinically with people with IDD. Respondents practicing clinically worked a median of 8 hours in clinical and 3 hours in non-clinical IDD-related work per week. Conclusions: Surveyed psychiatrists had considerable experience in IDDMH. However, their work in IDDMH represented a relatively small proportion of their overall work hours, and a minority of respondents were responsible for a large proportion of clinical work. Exploring ways to broaden capacity is crucial to ensuring the mental health needs of people with IDD are met.