142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

299977
Evaluating a mammography promotion intervention for women with intellectual disabilities and their families

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Nicole Economou , Department of Family Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Nechama W. Greenwood, CPM, MA , Department of Family Medicine, Boston University School of Medine, Boston, MA
Joanne Wilkinson, MD, MSc , Department of Family Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Background: Women with intellectual disabilities (ID) are a known disparity population, with lower rates of regular mammography screening and higher breast cancer mortality despite a similar prevalance of breast cancer as the general population.  Among the larger population of women with ID, women who live with their families are least likely to get regular mammography.  Our previous research has found that DVD-based interventions are successful for women with ID, but family members of women with ID in a prior study indicated that they have unique needs.

Methods: We developed a story-based educational DVD for women and families and administered pre and post DVD testing of mammography knowledge and stage of change, as well as feasibiity and acceptability testing.

Results: Acceptability and feasibility were rated highly, and we saw an increase in mammography readiness among family members who viewed the DVD.

Discussion: While further testing to establish long term efficacy is needed, this intervention shows potential to impact cancer screening rates in a particularly vulnerable sub-population, and is cost efffective and potentially easy to disseminate.  We suggest that future disparity reduction efforts for adults with intellecutal disabilities target family members as well as adults with ID.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the rationale for including family members in health promotion interventions for women with intellectual disabilities Evaluate a cancer screening intervention for women with intellectual disabilities

Keyword(s): Cancer Prevention and Screening, Disabilities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an early career researcher focused on health care access and disparities for women with intellectual disabilities, including primary care and cancer screening, with a focus on mammography access, reproductive health and aging. This study was conducted under the supervision of my mentor, who has multiple federal grants related to breast cancer disparity reduction and mammography in women with intellectual disabilities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.