Central to the idea of self-determination is the concept of preferences expressed via choice making. Currently, preference assessment has excluded the health domain entirely. An experiment was performed to test a computer program used to elicit preferences about secondary conditions and treatments in 49 adults with developmental disabilities living in group homes in Montana and to demonstrate the ability of these participants to reliably use the program to communicate choices. The program consisted of five animated vignettes which illustrated the following secondary conditions: sleep problems, dental hygiene/oral health problems, balance/dizziness problems, persistence/low frustration tolerance problems, and communication problems. Each of the five secondary conditions vignettes was then paired with each of the other five and presented in random order, twice, to each of the participants, for a total of twenty presentations. To indicate choices, participants pushed the keyboard buttons themselves, indicated their preference verbally or pointed to their choice. Participants expressed a choice as to which of the secondary conditions would be the “most difficult to cope with”. Twenty-five participants (63%) were able to choose the same secondary condition during both presentations for at least 6 of the ten pairs. These participants found balance problems to be the most difficult to cope with, followed in descending order by dental health/oral hygiene problems, persistence/low frustration tolerance problems, communication problems and sleep problems. Treatment choices were also presented, with the majority of participants wishing to take pills or medication to treat secondary conditions. The results generated by proxy raters will also be discussed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the participant will be able to: 1. Describe one method for assessing health choices for adults with developmental disabilities. 2. Discuss limitations in using a computerized paired comparison procedure with adults with developmental disabilities.
Keywords: Communication Technology, Prevention
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