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Ohio UCEDDs Collaborate with Susan G. Komen Affiliates to Improve the Mammography Experience for Women with Disabilities

September 12, 2013

Top: Panelists pose with event facilitators and guest speaker, Edna Marr (back row, middle) following the training event. Bottom: Women with disabilities led a panel discussion on ways to improve the mammography experience.
Top: Panelists pose with event facilitators and guest speaker, Edna Marr (back row, middle) following the training event. Bottom: Women with disabilities led a panel discussion on ways to improve the mammography experience.

The Ohio Disability and Health Program (ODHP) is a CDC-funded, statewide program with goals to promote health and increase access to care for Ohioans with disabilities. ODHP is a close collaboration of the two Ohio UCEDDs, the University of Cincinnati (UC) UCEDD and The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, with Susan Havercamp at Nisonger Center as the Principal Investigator of the project. Other collaborators include the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC) and the Ohio Department of Health. ODHP is also guided by its advisory panel, the Disability Community Planning Group (DCPG). These partnerships have facilitated a collaborative, state-wide network of professionals immersed in several projects aimed to improve the health and lives of people with disabilities.

One of the main efforts of UC UCEDD as part of ODHP is to improve mammography facilities' accessibility and the mammogram experience for women with disabilities. In Ohio, 67.3% of women with disabilities age 40 and over have received a mammogram compared to 76.0% of women without disabilities (CDC, 2008).  Erica Coleman, Health Activities Coordinator for the UC UCEDD, reached out and facilitated a partnership with all four Susan G. Komen Affiliates in Ohio to plan and implement a training seminar for Ohio mammography technologists on July 20, 2013.The Women with Disabilities Seminar for Mammography Technologists provided an opportunity to learn how to best serve women with various disabilities during a mammogram. Lead presenter, Edna Marr, R.T. (RM) from Oregon, who has conducted these types of trainings for the last four years, provided general information about working with women with disabilities and on positioning strategies. Women panelists with disabilities shared their personal experiences as well as tips with the audience. As recipients of mammograms, panelists shared advice ranging from how to interact with service dogs in the medical setting to how to best support positioning for a mammogram. A panel of experienced technologists who have worked with a diverse population of women with disabilities provided information on positioning strategies, policies, effective communication strategies and other helpful information.  All attending technologists also had time to network and share best practices when working with women with disabilities.

Fifty mammography technologists from across Ohio attended this free training that also provided six CEU credits. Over 95% of attendees rated the training as valuable or highly valuable to their work. One participant said, "Every couple of years we need to refresh and go back to the basics! It was great talking about women's special needs and their feelings."  Many of the technologists found the training seminar empowering and informative. One attendee shared, "I wish all of our mammography techs at our facility could have been here." In another effort to make the mammography experience better for women with disabilities, the UC UCEDD will also offer free accessibility assessments to mammography facilities in Ohio over the next two years.

To view a gallery of pictures from this training, please visit the UC UCEDD website article on the event.