Caring for People with Learning Disabilities: Attitudes and Perceptions of General Nurses a Literature Review

Background: There is increasing evidence regarding people with learning disabilities (LD) having high unmet healthcare needs and poor care provided. Aim: To explore the attitudes and perceptions of general nurses when caring for people with LD and how they affect the quality of care provided. Methods: CINAHL and BND databases were examined for applicable literature published between 2006 and 2016. Resultant 4 papers were appraised (Polit and Beck 2012). Findings: Two themes were identified: (1) attitudes and perceptions of general nurses and (2) lack of knowledge of general nurses caring for people with LD. These themes impacted on general nurses’ competence and confidence to care and influenced the quality of care provided to people with LD. Conclusion: This review of the literature indicated that in acute and general hospitals, often people with LD are cared for by general nurses who have less positive attitudes, lack of knowledge and appropriate training in LD awareness. Therefore, it is important to address general nurses’ attitudes and perceptions by providing LD preregistration education and specific training on LD awareness, as these could improve the quality of care provided to people with LD.