Nine years after a previous Uildm survey, new research finds that too little has changed in this sense in our country
The gynecological clinics truly tailored for disabled women in Italy can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And that count hasn’t changed in the past nine years. the panorama that begins to emerge from the first data of Accessibility survey questionnaire of gynecological services for women with disabilities that the Psychologists Group and the Women Group of Uildm launched at the end of last year and will continue to offer to healthcare facilities in Italy throughout 2022. In fact, four centers have provided the data so far: two in Turin, one in Florence and one in Rome. The same ones that in a previous analysis of 2013, also by Uildm, were found to be the only best practices at national level.
Deterrent to cure
The 2022 questionnaire aims to verify the state of the art both from the point of view ofaccessibility in the strict senseboth of practical aspects such as ease of use of the equipment by women in wheelchairs, connections through accessible means of transport, the possibility of compile the documentation with digital tools. The aim of the research is not only the collection of data but, as mentioned, the comparison with those of the previous 2013 Report, Accessibility of gynecology and obstetrics services to women with disabilities.
From that study on a sample of 61 clinics a whole series of criticisms emerged. The most evident were precisely the inaccessibility of the clinics, the lack of dedicated services and equipment, the poor preparation of the staff. In women with disabilities, all of these problems generate great frustration. The combination of the inaccessibility of gynecological clinics with the denial of one’s own femininity and of everything that follows, in fact, ends up acting as a deterrent for the treatment and prevention of gynecological health, as evidenced by also the focus groups activated on the project Sexuality, motherhood, disability.
On the hunt for good practices
The new survey has returned to delving into truly accessible Italian gynecology facilities that can be identified as good practice. We found it useful to track down and tell about the most virtuous outpatient situations – points out Stefania Pedronivice president of Uildm – to show how to make a gynecological clinic more usable to people with motor disabilities, hoping to be able to replicate it in all regions of Italy.
Up to now, in fact, they have responded to the appeal the same four services already reported nine years ago. It is not so strange, because to properly devote himself to this reality you must not only have experience and interact with fellow specialists in other disciplinesbut above all investing time and reserving space not only physical but also mental, he says Paola Castagnaspecialist in Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Sant’Anna hospital in Turin and contact person for the disability clinic. In fact we are a bit of the “islands”. Structured realities like ours are few, because usually initiatives related to some project are carried out which then stops, he adds. Cristiana Fabrettisocial worker at the Al Quadraro family clinic in Rome.
Tuscany, the special needs algorithm
In Tuscany, the Rosa Point Service as well as the ASDI Service have in some way pioneered the global PASS path of the Tuscany Region, born in 2017 to meet the complex health needs of citizens with disabilities. The PASS provides for an innovative organizational model – he explains Angelamaria Becorpi, gynecologist project manager Pass-Aou Careggi Florence -. It starts fromidentification of the type of services and spaces to be ensured to people and related environmental measuresthe so-called “reasonable accommodations”, assessed using the special needs algorithm (ABS) found in the dedicated platform on the portal of the Tuscany Region to which the patient or family member or caregiver must access to register and request the service. other experience of the Pink Point Service with the height-adjustable electric gynecological tables served as a model to equip territorial health authorities without identical ones, to facilitate access to female screening.
The discovery of telemedicine
Lockdown aside, the pandemic also proved an opportunity for these four clinics. The health emergency has allowed us to “discover” telemedicinenow used when possible (e.g. examination control, consultancy …) as a complementary modality to the ordinary one and proving to be an excellent facilitation for women with disabilities who have difficulty in moving, reports Giada Morandi coordinator of the Fior di Loto clinic – Passepartout Service, City of Turin.
One design is missing
The problem of the poor accessibility of clinics by people with disabilities depends on the fact that their accessibility is not taken into consideration at the design stage. When an environment or a medical investigation tool is not built to be usable by all people, there is a risk of discriminating against a part of the population and violating a right – he observes Stefania Pedroni, vice president of Uildm -. There are aspects simply connected to the inability to design and build tools and places that everyone can use.
Design for All
For some time, it has always been gaining traction therea so-called universal design, the Design for All
. Conceived as design for human diversity, social inclusion and equality, a way of thinking and designing spaces and objects that gives all people the same opportunity to participate to every aspect of society. How can this new model be implemented in the creation of clinics? Human diversity is infinite: no one is so experienced as to know everyone’s needs – he replies Pete Kercher, one of the leading experts in the sector -. This is why Design for All provides consultation at every stage of the process. The true expert who knows he doesn’t know, but who knows who to involve to learn. This principle applies in every area: from urban planning to products, from services to communications. In the health sector, the right balance must be sought between the needs of the caregiver and those of the people undergoing care.
March 11, 2022 (change March 12, 2022 | 14:05)
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