Does intellectual disability research consider the potential impact of geographic location?

Abstract

Background. Residing in a rural location is associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and reduced access to essential services such as housing, education, transport and healthcare. However, it is not clear whether researchers consistently consider geographic impact for people with intellectual disability. Method. All research articles since January 2000 in the 'Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability' were reviewed to determine the geographic location of the study participants. Results. In approximately 50% of the 428 studies reviewed it was not possible to accurately determine participants' geographic location, or in some cases even the country in which the research was conducted. Only 6% of papers either focused on rural participants, or compared rural participants against metropolitan peers. Conclusions. Little attention has been paid to geographic location in the sampled intellectual disability literature. This failure to consider geographic disadvantage potentially limits the applicability of such research findings to a significant proportion of the community.