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"Get tested, don't postpone" - about the availability of medical services for OzN

Updated: 6min.

Studies have shown that a huge number of people with disabilities have limited access to medical services and that as many as one third of those surveyed have never been to a gynecologist/urologist.

About the Sekson project campaign – “Get tested, don’t postpone”

"Get tested, don't put it off" - this is the slogan of our social campaign, in which we convince people with disabilities that intimate health prevention is very important and overcome their fears and concerns that have so far caused them to avoid visiting a gynecologist/urologist. We are implementing the campaign as part of the Sekson project of the Avalon Foundation. This is an educational project in which we focus on the sexuality and parenthood of people with physical disabilities. The starting point for our activities was the research we carried out in 2020, "Sexuality and parenthood of people with physical disabilities", which covered over 800 respondents. You can read the detailed results here .

We have engaged people with disabilities in the campaign, who tell us about their experiences of visiting doctors in short videos and say which adjustments are necessary for them . We have also invited specialists, who demystify the visit to the doctor and encourage health prevention, while showing other specialists/facilities that sometimes openness, a desire to gain knowledge and development are enough to help a person with a disability. We also invite you to post photos with a card with the hashtag #accessibilitymap, so that the idea of ​​accessibility, openness and equality can go out into the world.

What does accessibility look like in the area of ​​medical services?

Studies have shown that the majority of people have a negative opinion of healthcare: primarily due to the lack of accessibility, the lack of a holistic approach to disability , the long waiting time for an appointment, and the lack of information about whether a given specialist deals with a specific condition and whether she has experience working with people with disabilities. Most people are forced to use private visits to specialists at the same time. Mothers and partners of men with disabilities drew particular attention to the lack of support in the event of a disability in the family. Women experience a sense of loneliness and lack of access to reliable information. There is a lack of specialist and psychological support , and a path to be set.

The problem is still the stereotypical approach to disability , and sometimes it is even the lack of knowledge about services that could be adapted to the needs of people experiencing disabilities. Sometimes, those interested themselves have to acquire knowledge about, for example, ambulances transporting people using electric wheelchairs. Medical personnel do not always have such knowledge, and often do not show the initiative to acquire it.

The problem with access to gynecological services is the mentality of experts, which manifests itself, among other things, in patronizing women with disabilities . Such behavior may be caused by a lack of appropriate education and experience.

Due to the lack of reliable sexual education , as well as a good source of knowledge, people with disabilities are still the social group that is excluded, both from the area of ​​sexuality and intimate health prevention. People with disabilities are still thought of as asexual, they are still infantilized and deprived of sexual identity. 

Fears, concerns and barriers in the area of ​​intimate health among women with disabilities

A visit to a gynecologist is primarily associated with the fear that the office will not be adapted to the patient's needs . Accessibility is one of the most important factors influencing the decision to visit. Studies show that the architectural adaptation of medical facilities is still not obvious and this is still the most important reason why women with disabilities give up visiting a doctor.

The most common fear women have before a visit is fear of the doctor herself . Studies have shown that women often experience discrimination from doctors . "Birth control pills - why do you need them?", "This doesn't apply to you" - these are the voices that women with disabilities encounter in gynecological offices. Women most often search for information on their own about how their condition may affect their gynecological health, the course of pregnancy and the possibility of having children, because they are afraid that the specialist will not have such knowledge or will advise against motherhood. Almost half of the women surveyed also declared that they had experienced a situation in which someone offered them help "because it would be faster", and situations in which they were forced to change in front of third parties.

Exclusion from the sexual sphere , which women with disabilities experience, is also extremely important . Women encounter negative messages about their sexuality, most often unfortunately from their closest environment, and in the context of parenthood also from the health service. As a result, a visit to a gynecologist becomes something that is no longer a priority. Girls with disabilities are brought up in the belief that sexuality, intimate health prophylaxis and sex are areas that do not concern them.

The issue of dependency also proves to be a barrier – according to our research, only 6% declared that they were independent, and the remaining 94% said that they were dependent on family, support from an assistant, a carer, third parties. This dependency is also important in the context of taking care of one's health – being dependent on loved ones when it comes to getting to an appointment is a very significant problem that women face in particular. They are the ones who are most often accompanied by their mother/father during an appointment, and this is most often because a given medical facility prevents them from moving around or getting to the office on their own. Dependency in this area also takes away the sense of independence, autonomy, which builds our self-confidence.

Women decide to be accompanied by someone close also because of fear of the specialist herself and uncertainty as to whether she will be able to provide support to a woman, even one deciding on contraception or motherhood. Women have experienced situations when healthcare workers treated them as people with whom communication is difficult or impossible, directing messages to the person accompanying the woman. This not only takes away the agency of the woman herself, but also constitutes another step towards infantilization.

These experiences, especially negative ones, unfortunately reinforce women's fears and concerns about the next visit , which means that these visits are often one-off, and intimate health prevention fades into the background.

What is the Accessibility Map and accessibility of medical services?

The Accessibility Map , initiated by the Avalon Foundation, is a nationwide search engine for adapted medical facilities and specialists working with people with motor and sensory disabilities.

The places and people on the Map meet the developed accessibility criteria, are friendly places for people with disabilities, spaces free from barriers, both architectural and communicational - these are places where you can, for example, use the support of an assistant_a , where an induction loop is available or where the administrative staff knows how to support a person with a disability.

The Accessibility Map is intended to provide the information needs and facilitate access to medical services on equal terms. Independence and self-reliance are values ​​that should be guaranteed to all of us, and the ability to take care of one's health is one of the fundamental human rights .

On the Map you can find, among others: an adapted gynecological office, a childbirth school with a dedicated program for future parents with disabilities, a specialist dealing with sexual rehabilitation and psychotherapists working with people with disabilities.

Experiencing disability turns out to be an additional difficulty in the area of ​​intimate health prevention, hence the need to create an Accessibility Map and accessibility criteria, which have become guidelines that an adapted medical facility and specialist office should meet. We have distinguished criteria related to architectural adaptation, i.e. those related to, among others: appropriate width of doors and other communication spaces, information on the availability of ramps, automatic doors, elevators, handrails, ramps and access to a parking space for people with disabilities. In the case of an office, it is also an adapted toilet, an appropriately long visit time and the possibility of using a room to prepare for the visit . Adaptations for people with sensory disabilities are also important: visual, tactile and audio information, including tactile marking of rooms, clear and clear information boards, stair markings.

We have also distinguished additional criteria that are increasingly common in facilities and offices. These include: an assistant for a disabled person, a Polish sign language interpreter, the possibility of entering with a guide dog, a lift, access to an induction loop or a scale with the possibility of sitting down.

One of the key criteria is respect for the dignity and comfort of a person with a disability, which involves, for example, the need to extend the time of the visit, but also an attitude of openness and respect.

The accessibility criteria and the adaptations contained therein provide guidance on how to create an environment that is free from architectural barriers and stereotypes, enables participation in social life and thus counteracts exclusion and discrimination of people with disabilities.

Join the campaign “Get tested, don’t postpone” – more information on the Sekson project channels:

Also read our other texts as part of the Sekson x Your KAYA collaboration:

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Created at: 14/08/2022

Updated at: 14/08/2022

Author

Zaneta Krysiak

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