Measuring Preparedness for Mammography in Women with Intellectual Disabilities: A Validation Study of the Mammography Preparedness Measure

Background Women with intellectual disabilities (ID) have similar breast cancer rates as the general population, but lower rates of regular mammography and higher breast cancer mortality rates. Though prior qualitative work demonstrates that women with ID face unique, disability specific barriers to mammography, we lack standardized, validated instruments for measuring knowledge of breast cancer screening in this population. In addition, much research related to adults with ID focuses on family or carer perspectives, rather than involving women with ID, themselves.