Special Olympics Fights Against Institutional Discrimination in Medical and Dental Community
Special Olympics has released research on the barriers to health care for people with intellectual disabilities. The research clearly shows that dentists and doctors are not providing access to health care for people with intellectual disabilities and people with intellectual disabilities have some the worst health care of any minority population.
To view the complete information on this study and to download a copy of the summary presentations and photographs, please visit:
http://northamerica.specialolympics.org/research.
Groundbreaking studies commissioned by Special Olympics found disturbing evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities face widespread discrimination in their access to health care, and physicians, dentists and other health professionals are not receiving adequate training to treat them.
The studies prove many anecdotal stories of dismal health care access for people with intellectual disabilities correct. Cindy Bentley from Wisconsin tells a familiar tale of the plight for health care that many people with intellectual disabilities struggle with everyday. "I always have problems. Finding a doctor who takes my insurance is very hard. If I call and say I have Medicare or Title 19, people turn me away all the time and don't want to have anything to do with me," she said. Title 19 refers to a provision within the U.S. Social Security Act that provides for the payment of health-care services for certain procedures for eligible individuals.
The studies are some of the largest and most comprehensive research studies ever conducted on the barriers to health care for people with intellectual disabilities. Sponsored by Special Olympics with the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the studies were led by Stephen Corbin, DDS, MPH, Dean of Special Olympics University and Director of Health; Research Initiatives, and Mathew Holder, MD, MBA, Global Medical Advisor for Special Olympics and Executive Director of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry.
"The health of people with intellectual disabilities is much worse than that of people without disabilities," states Mary Helen Witten of the CDC." Physicians, nurses and other health care professionals are beginning to recognize that people with intellectual disabilities often do not have their health problems addressed and are often in need of additional health care. Unfortunately medical and dental schools often don't offer training or courses that prepare students to address health needs of this population."
Data from more than 15,000 health screenings on 4,700 athletes from 146 countries at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland and the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Japan, were analyzed, providing a look into the world of health care for people with intellectual disabilities. The data is the most extensive ever collected on the health status and needs of people with intellectual disabilities.
The research shows that more than one in three of the athletes had not received an eye exam for more than three years, and more than a quarter had never received one at all. More than three in 10 athletes failed hearing tests, which is nearly six times higher than rates seen in the general population. More than a third of all athletes screened had obvious signs of tooth decay, one-third needed prescription eyewear and half of them received it for the first time ever at the health screenings. The study also revealed that half of the athletes screened had one or more foot diseases or conditions.
A complementary study on the attitudes of health-care professionals toward people with intellectual disabilities was conducted by Dr. Holder. The study found disturbing evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities face widespread discrimination in their access to health care.
Dr. Holder used a Web-based survey system to distribute 17 surveys to six different groups represented by more than 2,500 people. Surveys were sent to U.S. medical and dental school deans, U.S. medical and dental residency directors, U.S. medical students and U.S. advocacy and patient care groups.
"The full potential of people with intellectual disabilities cannot be realized if there are significant barriers to quality health care," said Holder. "The fact that you would have to call 50 primary care doctors just to find one that had a minimum amount of training to treat someone with intellectual disabilities is a disgraceful barometer of our society."
More than half of the deans and students who participated in the survey responded that medical and dental school graduates are not competent to treat persons with intellectual disabilities. Almost three in five medical school deans responded that clinical training regarding intellectual disabilities is not a high priority at most schools. An overwhelming majority of students claim they are not receiving any clinical experience with people with intellectual disabilities and more than three-fourths of residency program directors say they are not providing any clinical training either.
The studies emphasized Special Olympics' commitment not only to athletics, but also to cutting-edge research and evaluation to promote better understanding of issues surrounding intellectual disabilities. Many Special Olympics athletes cannot see the finish line to win a race, and so Special Olympics created a program called Healthy Athletes to help alleviate some of the disparities to health care access for people with intellectual disabilities. Healthy Athletes provides health assessment, health education, disease prevention and, in some cases, corrective health care for Special Olympics athletes. Volunteer health-care professionals who participate in these screenings learn about the health needs of Special Olympics athletes, and gain knowledge and confidence in volunteering their clinical skills to work with people with intellectual disabilities.