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Evidence shows that women with intellectual disability experience barriers to accessing breast screening services. These barriers mean they are less likely to participate in breast screening than people without intellectual disability.
We believe that people with intellectual disability have a right to access the same level of care as other people. Barriers to screening put women with intellectual disability at a higher risk of late detection of breast cancer.
Until now, there has been no consensus about how to overcome the barriers. But thanks to work by our researchers, we now have a consensus and a clear way forward.
Our researchers worked with clinical and academic health experts to come up with 52 agreed strategies for improving access to breast screening.
The strategies are grouped into five key action areas:
- Decision making and consent
- Accessible information
- Engagement of peer mentors
- Service navigators
- Equipping key stakeholders
"We hope to work with breast screening services to trial ways to apply the agreed strategies," says lead researcher Janelle Weise.
"Fifty-two strategies might seem daunting for people working in health services. We now want to streamline and prioritise the strategies."
Implementing these strategies will not just improve health outcomes for women with intellectual disability, it will also help many other people – such as those who have dementia, Alzheimer's, autism, or English as a second language.
Related links
- Read the full paper Strategies for Accessible Breast Screening for People with Intellectual Disability, Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
- Sue Adrian and Janelle Weise were interviewed by the ABC's Nas Campanella about this research. Listen online
- See our project Contraception use in women with intellectual disability
- See also our project Understanding the perinatal mental health of people with intellectual disability
