Page 181 - Demo

General discussion1797were attentive to the possibility that my personal experiences and related convictions might influence interpretation of the results.This thesis also has limitations. The main limitation lies in identifying people with MID who can be included in studies. Firstly, in the quantitative studies, we were able to include individuals with MID who were not officially registered as such. However, the databases that we used for this purpose did not provide sufficiently precise information about cognitive and adaptive functioning. As a result, with MID as topic, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that individuals with more severe forms of ID or borderline intelligence may also be included in these studies. However, the data linkage approach applied in these studies to identify research participants is unique and currently the best available method to identify individuals with MID in big data in the Dutch setting. Secondly, in the qualitative study in Chapter 5, most participants were recruited through their practitioner; people whose MID was a blind spot or were not communicative or were mentally unable to participate were not invited to participate in this study. Moreover, detailed information regarding participants’ cognitive and adaptive functioning was not accessible for this study. Although I cannot rule out the possibility that the methods used to identify individuals with MID may have overlooked some perspectives, I am confident that the findings and recommendations in this thesis apply to the majority of people with both MID and MH problems, and therefore have important added value. An additional limitation of this thesis lies in the possibility that the results presented in Chapters 3–6 are to some extent a product of the Dutch primary care model, thereby limiting external validity. Nevertheless, as several countries have comparable primary care models, the opportunities presented upstream to improve primary MH care and support remain pertinent and can be extended beyond the confines of the Netherlands. Moreover, in nations with less robust formal primary care systems, professionals engaged in non-institutionalized settings, working with individuals experiencing both MID and MH issues, are still likely to encounter many of the challenges outlined in these studies and may benefit from the results and recommendations.Katrien Pouls sHL.indd 179 24-06-2024 16:26