Health From the Perspective of Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities—Report From Poland

Background Health awareness is an important factor in preventive health and healthy lifestyles of children and adolescents with an intellectual disability. The research objective is therefore to explore the perspective of people with intellectual disability regarding their health‐related experiences and the meanings they assign to health. Methods Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a methodological approach, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 14 students between the ages of 13 and 19. Results Analysis identified four themes: understanding of health, perceptions of a healthy lifestyle, identifying health‐at‐risk situations, and experiencing illness. For them, health means feeling good, the lack of illness, and a healthy lifestyle. Participants can identify various health‐threatening situations. Conclusions It is necessary to strengthen health education and health awareness in the population of people with intellectual disability, so as to enable them to increase the scope of their autonomy and self‐determination with regard to protecting their own health.