Therefore, we must increase the number of physicians and allied health professionals who are knowledgeable about and sensitive to disability issues. Health care providers may focus on a woman's disability and ignore many primary health care issues. For example, sexuality and reproductive health issues have not been given the same attention for women with disabilities as they have for other women or for men with disabilities. The importance of sexuality to the health and well-being of all women, including women with disabilities, must not be ignored. In addition, questions about sexual functioning, contraception, obstetric issues, and menopause are only beginning to be addressed.
Violence is a serious problem for many women with disabilities.
Results of a recent study by Nosek et al. 3 show that physically disabled women are at the same risk for physical and sexual abuse as able-bodied women but experience abuse over longer periods of time and have fewer resources by which to leave an abusive environment. Women with cognitive, psychiatric, or sensory impairments may be at even greater risk. In addition to the types of abuse experienced by all women, women with disabilities are sometimes abused by those who withhold needed orthotic equipment, medications, transportation, or the personal assistance required for essential activities of daily living. The broader issues of health and wellness for women with disabilities are frequently overlooked by our healthcare system.