Approaches to Care and General Considerations

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Knowledge in to practice: guideline implementation tools

Guideline implementation tools help primary care providers, such as family physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, in implementing the recommendations from the 2018 Canadian consensus guidelines on the primary care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in to clinical practice.

The tools in this section are recommended in the Approaches to Care section of the guidelines and include tools that facilitate getting consent from patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities, give tips about communicating effectively, and outline preventive care assessments. Tools such as Today’s Visit and Caregiver Assessment help both primary care providers and caregivers in preparing for a visit to the doctor with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The use of these adapted practice approaches may require more time than usual for a physician visit.

Most tools in this section were developed in 2011 by the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Initiative, which consisted of a group of clinicians and experts with experience in caring for adults with IDD. They are based on research evidence, as well as clinical knowledge and expertise.

We are currently in the process of updating these practice resources. If you are a practising family physician with feedback on the use of the 2011 version of these tools, please contact us at ddpcp@surreyplace.on.ca.

All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, Surrey Place. Contact the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program at Surrey Place at ddpcp@surreyplace.ca for permission to adapt information and tools to your local practice setting.