The role and key activities of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Advanced Nurse Practitioners in supporting healthcare provision for people with intellectual disability: An integrative review

Background: People with intellectual disability have poorer health than the general population and experience difficulties accessing healthcare. In addition, attitude and stigmatisation by healthcare professionals can lead to poorer health outcomes for people with intellectual disability. This is often driven by the fact that many healthcare professionals lack the knowledge, skill or experience in supporting people with intellectual disability. As lead roles within the nursing profession Clinical Nurse Specialists and Advanced Nurse Practitioners have a key role in supporting person-centred care and health outcomes. However, little is known about the effects of these roles on care provision for people with intellectual disability. Objective: To identify the effect of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Advanced Nurse Practitioners on care provision for people with intellectual disability. Design: A systematic search of six academic databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Medline and Academic Search Complete) relevant to nursing and health care was performed. Setting(s): Nursing care environment. Participants: Clinical Nurse Specialists and Advanced Nurse Practitioners providing care to people with intellectual disability. Methods: A pre-defined systematic search of six academic databases was conducted and two reviewers screened each study against the inclusion criteria. Additional hand searching of the reference lists (backward chaining) and citations (forward chaining) of papers that met the inclusion criteria was conducted. The methodological details of each paper were extracted and assessed for quality and rigour utilizing the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and the AACODS checklist for appraising grey literature. Thematic analysis was undertaken (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and the review is reported in line with PRISMA guidelines (Page et al. 2021). Results: All papers included in this review were from Ireland and spanned an eighteen-year period. Seven papers met the inclusion criteria: quantitative (n = 2), qualitative (n = 2), mixed methods (n = 2) and grey literature (n = 1). Thematic analysis enabled the development of three themes; maintaining core nursing skills; the maintenance of professional competence and providing a quality service. Conclusions: It is evident from the findings of this review that intellectual disability nursing in Ireland is actively engaged in research and professional development. Intellectual disability nursing in Ireland positively contributes to the individual, family and community and the international body of evidence that supports individualised care provision for persons with intellectual disability.