The “Women with Disabilities Symposium: A Practical Approach to Providing Quality Care to Women with Visual, Hearing, and Mobility Impairments” was held on Saturday, September 17, 2005 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Harvard Medical School Conference Center in the New Research Building. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Women with Disabilities at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

The conference aimed to provide clinicians and practice managers with the practical knowledge and skills to enable them to care more sensitively and effectively for women with disabilities. Topics included: overcoming negative attitudes and misconceptions; developing participatory patient-clinician relationships based on the unique needs of each patient; caring for the younger woman; learning how to make the simple equipment and physical examination modifications that permit comprehensive assessment; and a review of appropriate screening and prevention recommendations, how to perform an accurate functional assessment, and how to manage secondary medical complications that occur frequently in women with disabilities.

We are pleased to offer the conference's presentations, as well as additional resources for your reference.