At Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, we want all women in Australia to have the power and choice to enjoy their best health and wellbeing. So when we learned that anxiety around medical appointments was a common issue in the disability community, we got to work.
With our friends at Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA), we developed 2 new Easy Read fact sheets that explain what happens when you visit the doctor and the different types of women’s health professionals available.
Easy Read is specifically designed for people who find it hard to understand complex information. It combines simple words and meaningful images in an accessible format.
The new fact sheets will help address issues that many women with disability face when seeking health care.
“The idea for our ‘When you go to the doctor’ fact sheet came about through discussions with WWDA,” explains Rose Dupleix from the Jean Hailes data and insights team. “They mentioned that anxiety about medical appointments and medical trauma is a big issue for the disability community.”
Claire Bertholli from WWDA adds: “These resources can help women and the people who support them to better plan for an upcoming medical appointment which could be making them feel anxious or overwhelmed. The guides help by breaking things down and go through the process step by step with very easy-to-understand words and pictures.”
According to Annie Loughens, who reviewed the fact sheets and provided feedback before publication, the new resources also give women more control over their health care. “It's really empowering, especially for women with disabilities who don't have many advocates in their life,” she says.
Without resources like Easy Read, Annie says helpful health information remains out of reach for many women with disability.
We worked closely with people with disability to bring the fact sheets to life.
Caroline Livanos from the Jean Hailes writing team says: “We gained invaluable feedback about the text, images, layout and general flow of the information.”
For Claire, the work is a much-needed win in health care. “These partnerships are so important because often the knowledge and experiences of women with disabilities are undervalued in health care settings,” she says.
The new fact sheets are the latest additions to our Easy Read offering. Other Easy Read health topics include periods, menopause and cervical screening.
We are also currently developing Easy Read fact sheets on endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that are due for release in 2025. Download our accessible, print-friendly Easy Read fact sheets for free.
All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure the information created by Jean Hailes Foundation, and published on this website is accurate as at the time of its creation.
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