Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

WORKING TOGETHER WITH PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY TO ADVANCE EQUITABLE CERVICAL CANCER ELIMINATION: FINDINGS FROM THE SCREENEQUAL CLINICAL TRIAL (145037)

Lauren Marissa Winkler 1 2 , Jane Ussher 3 , Iva Strnadova 4 5 , Michael David 6 7 , Ee-Lin Chang 8 , Allison Carter 9 , Julie Loblinzk OAM 4 10 , Sally Sweeney 8 11 , Kirsten McCaffery 12 , Rosalie Power 3 , Caroline Basckin 4 5 , Heather Jolly 8 , Kimberley Allison 1 2 , Sarah Simmonds 13 , Deborah Bateson AM 1 2
  1. The Cancer Elimination Collaboration, The University of Sydney, Newtown, NSW, Australia
  2. Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
  4. School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. The Disability Innovation Institute UNSW (DIIU), The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  6. The Daffodil Centre, A research partnership between Cancer Council NSW and the University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Australia
  7. School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
  8. Family Planning Australia, (FPA), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  9. The Kirby Institute, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  10. Self-Advocacy Sydney, (SAS), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  11. School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  12. The Health Literacy Lab, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  13. Community Disability Alliance Hunter, (CDAH), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Introduction. Cervical cancer remains a disease of inequity for people with intellectual disability due to low screening rates. ScreenEQUAL, a Targeted Cancer Research study, co-produced and evaluated a suite of accessible screening resources, supporter materials and accredited healthcare professional (HCP) online training with people with intellectual disability (including our lived-experience co-presenter) to support national scale-up.

Methods. Three parallel single-arm pre-post studies evaluated ScreenEQUAL resources. In Study 1, people with intellectual disability aged 21-74 participated in accessible workshops facilitated by trained supporters. Informed decision-making was defined as adequate knowledge (≥4 out of 8 correct items) and concordant attitudes and intentions, assessed using an Easy Read co-produced survey. Pre-post changes in informed decision-making and knowledge scores were analysed using logistic regression and paired-samples t-tests. Studies 2 and 3 evaluated supporter resources and the HCP training module using pre-post surveys. Changes in supporter health literacy and HCP confidence in providing trauma-informed screening were assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and repeated-measures analyses.

Results. Study 1: Thirty-three people with intellectual disability (21-67 years) attended one of six workshops. Mean knowledge scores significantly increased from pre-to-post (5.4, SD 2.4 vs 6.8, SD 2.6; p<0.001) and participants were more likely to make an informed screening decision post-intervention (OR=2.7). Study 2: Supporters (n=9; 18-65 years) showed health literacy improvements that did not reach statistical significance (p=0.058). Study 3: Among 245 HCPs (28-72 years), confidence in providing trauma-informed healthcare significantly increased after training (40.3 vs 50.6; F(1,244)=509.9, p<0.001). Exploratory analyses suggested greater improvements among older HCPs (p=0.032).

Conclusion. Co-produced accessible cervical screening resources improved informed decision-making among people with intellectual disability. Accompanying materials increased supporters’ understanding of cervical screening for people with intellectual disability and targeted training increased HCP confidence to provide inclusive, trauma-informed healthcare for this group. ScreenEQUAL offers a scalable strategy to advance equitable cervical cancer elimination.