Addressing breast health inequalities among women with disabilities

Women with disabilities continue to experience inequalities in terms of accessing breast health screening, educational, and treatment services. Inaccessible facilities and lack of knowledge among service providers contribute to this disadvantage. Building upon previous work that initiated a breast health education and outreach program at Paraquad, the local independent living center in St. Louis, this study developed and pilot-tested two model products for improving access and use of breast health services. Funded by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the products include a checklist that describes key accessibility features necessary in breast health facilities and a guidebook that provides detailed instruction on using the checklist and resources for improving accessibility. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to evaluate prototype content and format. Focus groups of (1) women with disabilities across age, race, ethnicity, disability type, and socio-economic status and (2) breast health service professionals and other relevant clinicians (e.g. accessibility architect) provided initial input. Revised products were pilot-tested by consumers and providers using a small sample of Missouri breast health facilities. Preliminary data has been compared between providers and consumers for each facility as well as between facilities for reliability and validity purposes. This presentation will review these findings, describe actual products, and discuss the role of the social worker in addressing the issue. It is anticipated that the checklist and guidebook will be replicated across the United States and that the study will improve breast health service access and use among women with disabilities.