Gynecological Care for Women With Intellectual Disabilities: A Brazilian Study

Abstract

We aimed to identify the main challenges in the gynecological care and management of patients with intellectual disability by gynecologists. Gynecologists answered to online questionnaires about situations in which the professional reports their confidence in caring for patients with intellectual disability. Were studied 143 responses, 75% women. Among them, 53.8% felt apprehensive to conduct a routine gynecological screening, 60% were confident in advising about contraceptive services and examining the genitals. The greatest difficulty was indicating drugs to suppress menstruation and managing patients with severe intellectual disability. The female doctors were more prepared in the care of disability patients and recent certified gynecologists were more insecure. The main difficulty was time for examinations (39.2%) and the main solution was to improve medical training (64.2%). The main challenges of the gynecologist included the amount of time needed to provide clinical services, the lack of knowledge and skill; and ethical concerns.