{"id":12886,"date":"2025-09-26T09:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T09:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12886"},"modified":"2025-09-29T08:34:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T08:34:24","slug":"ensuring-women-with-intellectual-disabilities-can-access-inclusive-care-across-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/womens-healthcare\/ensuring-women-with-intellectual-disabilities-can-access-inclusive-care-across-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"Ensuring women with intellectual disabilities can access inclusive care across Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12887\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26085452\/vicky-1758876890-Fran-Murphy-colour-hi-res-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26085452\/vicky-1758876890-Fran-Murphy-colour-hi-res-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26085452\/vicky-1758876890-Fran-Murphy-colour-hi-res-1-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Fran Murphy<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">CEO, Sunbeam House Services<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In Ireland, women with intellectual disabilities (ID) face significant health disparities, particularly in relation to menopause, breast cancer and sexual health.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sunbeam.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sunbeam House Services<\/a> supports people with intellectual disabilities, promoting their health and wellbeing. Despite national initiatives to improve women\u2019s health, many remain underserved \u2014 particularly those with additional or complex needs. As Ireland\u2019s population ages and health needs evolve, it\u2019s vital to highlight both the challenges and opportunities in ensuring inclusive care and upholding the rights of all women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-providing-accessible-sexual-health-education\"><strong>Providing accessible sexual health education<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sexual health is a vital component of overall wellbeing, yet it is often overlooked for women with intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sunbeam House Services\u2019 \u2018Time to Talk\u2019 initiative addresses this gap by providing <a href=\"https:\/\/sunbeam.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accessible education<\/a> and safe spaces for open dialogue. The programme is developed with input from the Viewpoint Committee \u2014 an advocacy group of people with ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-breast-cancer-and-menopause-awareness\"><strong>Breast cancer and menopause awareness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While breast cancer remains one of the most common cancers among Irish women, research tells us that women with intellectual disabilities are disproportionately affected by late-stage diagnoses and lower participation in screening programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u2018Look, Feel, Tell\u2019 campaign provides accessible resources to help women with ID recognise symptoms and seek help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewarts Care and Breast Cancer Ireland have also produced an easy-read guide to the eight signs of breast cancer. Menopausal symptoms are often missed in this group, and low uptake of treatment highlights the need for tailored support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Improving women\u2019s health for <br>those with intellectual disabilities <br>requires more than medical interventions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-people-centred-strategy\"><strong>A people-centred strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While national plans acknowledge the need for inclusive health services, specific measures for women with ID remain limited. Reports such as Breaking Down Barriers, particularly the National Screening Service, identify systemic obstacles in accessing screening services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, the National Sexual Health Strategy 2025\u20132035 sets out an inclusive vision for sexual health and wellbeing in Ireland. Its focus on equity, accessibility and social inclusion means services must be tailored to people with intellectual disabilities. Aligned with Sunbeam\u2019s Transformation Plan 2025\u20132030, the strategy promotes diversity, equality, sex positivity and joined-up, people-centred care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-every-woman-has-a-right-to-appropriate-care\"><strong>Every woman has a right to appropriate care<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sunbeam.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Improving women\u2019s health<\/a> for those with intellectual disabilities requires more than medical interventions; it demands inclusive education, accessible resources and empowered voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Programmes like \u2018Time to Talk\u2019 and advocacy groups like Viewpoint are vital in shaping a future where every woman \u2014 regardless of ability \u2014 can access the care and support she deserves. Sunbeam will continue to advocate for women\u2019s rights to appropriate and timely healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><div style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-button ab-block-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sunbeam.ie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"ab-button ab-button-shape-rounded ab-button-size-medium fb-pixel\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#3373dc\">Learn more about Sunbeam House Services<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Ireland, women with intellectual disabilities (ID) face significant health disparities, particularly in relation to menopause, breast cancer and sexual health. Sunbeam House Services supports people with intellectual disabilities, promoting their health and wellbeing. Despite national initiatives to improve women\u2019s health, many remain underserved \u2014 particularly those with additional or complex needs. As Ireland\u2019s population &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/womens-healthcare\/ensuring-women-with-intellectual-disabilities-can-access-inclusive-care-across-ireland\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2085],"tags":[5985],"class_list":["post-12886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens-healthcare","tag-womens-healthcare-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26090130\/vicky-1758877279-AdobeStock_504065431-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26090130\/vicky-1758877279-AdobeStock_504065431-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12891,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12886\/revisions\/12891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}