Gross inadequacies in receipt of physical exams and cervical and breast cancer screening by women with intellectual disabilities

This presentation will report receipt of cervical and breast cancer screening and physical examinations for a sample of 199 community-dwelling women with intellectual and developmental disabilities in one southeastern state. Receipt of screenings and physical examinations was obtained from the women's medical records for the period 2006-2010. Rates of all three procedures occurred at rates that were far below clinically recommended guidelines. Medical records indicated that women received physical exams more often than mammography, and mammography more often than Pap tests. Rates of receipt of these procedures were relatively stable over the five year 2006-10 period. Women who lived at home with family caregivers had the worst rates of receipt of physical exams, as well as cervical and breast cancer screening, even in regression models that controlled women's age, race, severity of impairment, length of time with a primary care physician and urban/rural location. Aggressive measures are required to improve the receipt of these preventive screenings by women with intellectual disabilities. Potential interventions will be discussed.