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The role of community nurses and residential staff in supporting women with intellectual disability to access breast screening services
- Authors:
- TAGGART L., TRUESDALE-KENNEDY M., MCILFATRICK S.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 55(1), January 2011, pp.41-52.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Women with intellectual disability (ID) are living longer and experiencing the same age-related illnesses as the non-ID population, including breast cancer. There is evidence that these women experience a greater number of risk factors for developing breast cancer. Cognitive deficits and communication difficulties mean that they are dependent upon staff to support them to attend screening clinics. This paper investigated how this support is provided. Six focus groups were held with community nurses and residential staff working in the field of ID in Northern Ireland. Many of the participants recognised the risk factors and signs/symptoms of breast cancer; but there were knowledge gaps. Both positive and negative experiences of women with ID attending for breast screening were reported but much of the discussion focused on the latter. Factors inhibiting attendance included; lack of health educational material, negative emotions, attitudes and physical barriers. Breast awareness and visual checks were suggested for women with ID who refused to attend the breast clinics; however this raised issues of informed consent and vulnerability for carers undertaking the checks. The authors highlight the need for a breast awareness programme for women with ID and suggest the development of accessible health education literature.