Perspectives on health care of adults with developmental disabilities.
Adults with developmental disabilities feel healthy yet still miss vital dental, cancer, and reproductive services.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Matson et al. (2008) ran focus groups with adults who have developmental disabilities.
They asked how these adults feel about their health care.
What they found
Most adults said they feel healthy overall.
Yet many missed dental cleanings, cancer tests, and reproductive care.
How this fits with other research
Ummer-Christian et al. (2018) and Pimentel Júnior et al. (2024) show the same dental gap in kids and autistic clients.
Turk et al. (2010) later found nurses also report missed cancer screenings for the same adults.
Together these papers build a life-span picture: dental and cancer services stay hard to get even as people age.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with DD, do not trust a clean bill of health at face value. Ask about last dental visit, Pap test, or colon kit. Add a goal for caregiver advocacy training so families know how to book these visits and request simple accommodations like longer visits or picture schedules.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A focus group study was conducted with individuals with developmental disabilities to understand their perspectives on their health status, health promotion behaviors, and health care services they receive. The majority of participants reported good to excellent health, and all had some form of medical insurance. However, participants reported notable gaps in dental and reproductive health care and age-specific cancer screening. Some adults had good access to medical care, particularly those with a family member or friend who served as their health advocate. Some adults had a sound understanding of their health and health care needs. Program and policy implications are discussed and recommendations are presented to ensure adequate health care for adults with disabilities, including health advocacy training for caregivers.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2008 · doi:10.1352/2008.46:411-426