Development of a daily living education program for individuals with intellectual disabilities under protective care

Program for individuals with intellectual disabilities who live in protective care. The present study was designed with program development model based on system approach. The model includes three phases: (a) Problem identification, (b) development and (c) assessment. In the first phase, program advisory committee members were identified, and the problems experienced by individuals with intellectual disabilities, who reside in state mental care and rehabilitation centers, were defined and a project timetable was constructed. In the development stage, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 61 participants that included healthcare staff, professional staff and administrators employed in ten state care and rehabilitation centers in seven different regions in Turkey. A program workgroup that included 10 field personnel was formed to discuss the data generated with the interviews based on three main themes and 19 sub-themes and to draft the program content. Diagnostic assessments of 20 fieldworkers including healthcare personnel, professional staff and administrators about the designed program content were obtained. Assessment findings obtained in the evaluation process indicated that the content validity was established for all 232 program objectives. As a result, a Daily Living Education Program (DLEP), which was systematic with its adaptability for different mental care and rehabilitation centers and capacity for individualization for each individual with intellectual disability and functional with daily living skills and leisure activities designed specifically for the living quarters of individuals with intellectual disabilities, was finalized.