Factors facilitating or hindering meaningful staff–client interactions in people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour: A systematic mixed studies review using thematic synthesis

BACKGROUND: Interactions with professional caregivers affect the quality of support and life of people with intellectual disabilities and contribute to the occurrence of challenging behaviour. The present literature review provides an overview of factors facilitating or hindering meaningful staff–client interactions in people with borderline to profound intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. METHOD: Database searches, reference list and citation screening, and expert consultations were undertaken. A thematic synthesis of 28 studies was performed. RESULTS: Factors were identified at the client (i.e. behaviour, emotions and (dis)abilities), staff (i.e. interactive principles, knowledge, psychological resources, attributions, attitudes and (coping with) emotions) and context levels (i.e. group size, team and organization). CONCLUSIONS: The present overview provides insights into factors that facilitate or hinder meaningful staff–client interactions with people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The results support the need to combine client, staff and contextual factors when considering staff–client interactions in research and practice.