Disparities in health care among women with disabilities have been amply documented.¹ Women with disabilities are disproportionately likely to have poor access to health care, decreased screening for conditions common in all women, increased incidence of secondary complications, and diminished quality of life. Our current healthcare delivery system is inadequately responsive to these needs, and traditional health professions training fails to provide the knowledge and skills clinicians need in order to provide optimal care to women with disabilities in a sensitive manner. In 2004, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) sponsored a summit meeting entitled Breaking Down the Barriers to Health Care for Women with Disabilities.² Education was declared to be a critical next step toward improving care for this diverse, underserved population.

¹ Panko-Reis J, Breslin ML, Iezzoni LI, Kirschner KL. It takes more than ramps to solve the crisis of healthcare for people with disabilities. White Paper Report, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health leadership Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, September 2004.

² DHHS Women and Disabilities Summit, Washington, D.C., December 2004.

Current Health Care Provider Learning Modules:
Introduction
Communication
Breast Cancer