Case management interventions have been widely used in the care of frail older people. Such interventions often contain components that may act both independently of each other and interdependently, which makes them complex and challenging to evaluate. Qualitative research is needed for complex interventions to explore barriers and facilitators, and to understand the intervention’s components. The objective of this study was to explore frail older people's and case managers’ experiences of a complex case management intervention.

Older people have a greater disease burden and are more likely than younger to be prescribed medications. They are also more sensitive to adverse effects. With this in mind, a range of medications have been suggested inappropriate in this population. People with intellectual disability (ID) have a higher disease burden than the general population, putting them at even greater risk of prescription of such medications. The aim of this study was to describe prescription of potentially inappropriate medications among older people with ID in relation to prescriptions among their age peers in the general population. We established an administrative cohort of people with ID (ID cohort; n = 7936), using a Swedish national register. A referent cohort from the general population (gPop) was matched one-to-one by sex and year of birth. Data regarding prescription of potentially inappropriate medications were collected from the Swedish prescribed drug register for the years 2006–2012. People with ID were more likely than the general population to be prescribed medications with anticholinergic effects, intermediate- or long-acting benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics at least once during the study period, and also had more number of years with prescription. Except for benzodiazepines, those in the ID cohort with at least one prescription had larger amounts prescribed than those in the gPop cohort. People in the ID cohort were less likely than the general population to be prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Among those with at least one prescription of NSAIDs, those in the ID cohort had prescriptions during fewer years and in lower amounts than those in the gPop cohort. Although prescription of potentially inappropriate medications overall is more common among people with ID than in the general population, the opposite pattern is found for medications for pain management. This may be a result of pain being under-recognized and under-treated in this population. Thus, there is a need for training as well as increased knowledge and awareness among care and health care professionals regarding signs of adverse effects and the need of continuous evaluation of treatment in this vulnerable group.

Background: Knowledge about diagnoses patterns in older people with intellectual disabilities is limited.Methods: The case group (n = 7936) comprised people with intellectual disabilities aged 55 years and older. The control group (n = 7936) was age matched and sex matched. Somatic inpatient diagnoses (2002–2012) were collected retrospectively.Results: Several diagnoses were in several years significantly more common in the case group, particularly infections [odds ratio (OR) 1.78–4.08]; nervous system (OR 2.06–31.75); respiratory (OR 1.78–4.08) and genitourinary diseases (1.59–11.50); injuries, unspecified symptoms (OR 1.56–4.27); and external causes of morbidity (OR 1.53–4.08). The oldest in the case group had significantly less occurrence of tumours (OR 0.26–0.51), cardiovascular (OR 0.42–0.72), and musculoskeletal diseases (OR 0.32–0.53) than controls.Conclusions: Older people with intellectual disabilities have higher numbers of some diagnoses, but lower numbers of others. Further research on the reasons for the unique pattern of diagnoses in this group is required.

Background: The expected increase in longevity of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) in many countries of the world is a direct result of medical and social advances, which have also extended the longevity of the general population. It is important to assess the need for social services for people with ID across different administrative levels to ensure sufficient resources are allocated to where they are most needed. This study estimates the annual prevalence of older people with ID from 2004 to 2012 and in different counties and municipalities in Sweden, by sex and age group; identifies proxy indicators related to the care of older people with ID in different counties in 2012 in Sweden and analyses the spatial distribution and clustering of municipalities with a high prevalence of older people with ID.Methods: Individuals with ID were identified through the national register based on the Swedish Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (the LSS act) and the national death register. This study focuses on older individuals aged 55+ during the period of 2004–2012. The estimated prevalence was calculated at the county and municipality level and plotted on a municipality‐level map. Moran's I statistics was used to identify any spatial clustering of municipalities with a large number of individuals with ID.Results: The prevalence of ID among older individuals aged 55+ in Sweden increased from 2004 to 2012. The prevalence was consistently higher among men, and the gender gap increased slightly in recent years. Age‐specific prevalence estimates showed ID to be higher in younger age groups, and the gender gap decreased in older age groups. The prevalence was higher in northern counties in Sweden (over 500 individuals per 100 000 population aged 55+). Higher prevalence areas were clustered in northern municipalities, whereas municipalities with high prevalence of older individuals with ID in the middle and southern regions of Sweden demonstrated a more widespread distribution.Conclusions: The existence of clusters of counties with a high prevalence of older individuals with ID necessitates further assessment of how resources have been allocated to different counties and municipalities in Sweden. Investigations of the quality of social services provided to individuals with ID across different counties in Sweden are warranted. It is important to ensure that high quality supports are being provided to older individuals with ID in order to grant them the same right to healthy ageing as their counterparts living without ID throughout their life course.