Disability and women's health

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Women with disabilities have the same health issues as any other women, such as the need for routine breast and cervical cancer screening.^[1] However, women with impaired mobility are often not given basic tests, such as weight monitoring, due to the lack of accessible equipment.^[2]

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women outlines women's protection from gender discrimination when receiving health services and women's entitlement to specific gender-related healthcare provisions.^[3] Article 25 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities specifies that "persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability."^[4] However, it has been noted that the women with disabilities face obstacles and hardships and cannot access the same medical resources as those without.^[5]

Because traditionally, men have been used to model and test health treatments, the approaches to health services, such as physical therapy, were not properly aligned with disabled women's needs.^[6] It wasn't until after the 1990s that women's health issues were studied in-depth in the United States.^[7] In addition, researching the health issues of women with disabilities is also understudied.^[8] Starting in the early 2000s, health issues for people with disabilities began to be studied in the United States.^[9] The first long-term study involving the experiences of women with disabilities and gynecological services was not published until 2001.^[10]

Women with physical and or intellectual disabilities often face a medical bias within their communities. Factors can include unconscious bias, symptoms, negative perceptions, and even harsh assessments that can contribute to such discrimination.^[11] Physicians can have gender bias in a diagnostic assessment of symptoms they cannot explain. As many before studying women's anatomy had thought prior that both men and women functioned the same way. As when doing assessments for both intellect and physical disabilities. They used the men's traits to correlate to symptoms for women. When in reality symptoms are shown differently.^[12]

Women with disabilities, especially individuals who belong to minority groups or who live in rural settings, are often underserved in their healthcare needs.^[13] In addition, women with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty, which puts them at a greater health risk.^[7][14] In general, because of a lack of social connectedness that many disabled women experience, they often become disconnected from sources of support which can include healthcare providers.^[15] In Brazil, women with disabilities are also less likely to seek out gynecological health care due to various reasons, including cultural attitudes and cost.^[16]

When disabled women need routine services for anything other than their main impairment(s), they can be perceived as "problematic patients" by healthcare providers.^[17] Women with disabilities have reported that they are seen through the lens of their disability first and as a person second by healthcare providers.^[18] Conversely, a 2003 report found that not only did healthcare providers, in general, have positive attitudes toward people with physical disabilities in Saudi Arabia, regardless of gender, which cited that most healthcare professionals worldwide have positive attitudes.^[19]

In countries with strict gender segregation, such as in Saudi Arabia, women must use women-only clinics, many of which do not have access for people with physical disabilities.^[20]