The article discusses the importance of supporting women with disabilities to achieve optimal health. There are an estimated 35 million women in the United States who report having a disability.
Disability is defined as any condition that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities and interact with the world around them.
Women with disabilities require healthcare and health programs for the same reasons anyone else does.
Women with disabilities face several challenges that affect their health, including social determinants of health, mental health, intimate partner violence, and access to healthcare.
Social determinants of health refer to the conditions in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age, which can have a profound impact on health.
Women with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty, have lower educational levels, and lack health insurance compared to women without disabilities.
Improving social determinants of health can facilitate optimal health and full participation in society for people with disabilities.
Women with disabilities are more likely to experience frequent mental distress than men with disabilities.
They are also more likely to experience intimate partner violence, including sexual and physical violence, stalking, psychological aggression, and control of reproductive or sexual health when compared to women without a disability.
Women with disabilities also experience greater disparities in healthcare access compared to women without disabilities.
Several barriers to accessing healthcare include attitudes, stereotypes, and misperceptions about people with disabilities, lack of provider knowledge and skills, physical access barriers, financial barriers, difficulty scheduling appointments, inadequate communication with healthcare providers, inadequate health education materials, limited specialized transportation options, and limited access to healthcare facilities.
Improving clinical knowledge and care for persons with disabilities, practicing patient-centered care, and participating in disability education and training programs can improve access to quality healthcare for women with disabilities.
Women with disabilities are less likely to receive preventive health screenings, such as breast and cervical cancer screening, within recommended guidelines.
Barriers to screening may include lack of accessible equipment, cost of screening, or lack of insurance.
Providers may also be less likely to advise or refer women with disabilities for Pap or mammography screening tests or other preventive health screenings.
Discussing preventive health screenings with women and ensuring they have access to recommended screenings can reduce this disparity.
Finally, women with disabilities are more likely to have delayed prenatal care initiation and elevated risk for adverse health conditions that impact maternal and infant outcomes.
They also report that healthcare providers have limited knowledge about specific support needs and other resources for women with disabilities during and after pregnancy or demonstrate negative attitudes and misconceptions regarding the preferences or abilities of women with disabilities to have children.
Anticipating and accommodating special needs for women with disabilities, providing reproductive health information, acknowledging and planning for pregnancy intention preferences, and providing infant care equipment that is accessible by women with disabilities can reduce personal, social, and structural barriers to reproductive care for women with disabilities.
In conclusion, supporting women with disabilities to achieve optimal health requires addressing the challenges they face related to social determinants of health, mental health, intimate partner violence, access to healthcare, preventive health screenings, and reproductive health.
Improving clinical knowledge and care for persons with disabilities, practicing patient-centered care, participating in disability education and training programs, and addressing structural barriers can help ensure that women with disabilities have access to quality healthcare and the resources they need to achieve optimal health.