Breast screening can be more inclusive for people with intellectual disability – here’s how

3DN is now part of the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health

Easy to read summary

People with intellectual disability find it hard to access breast screening services.

We asked experts about ways to make breast screening accessible.

They agreed to 52 ways we can make breast screening better.

Health staff can use the 52 ways to make breast screening accessible.

If they do, it will help people with intellectual disability find cancer earlier.

An older woman getting a mammogram with the help of a young radiographer

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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.