New research studies conducted by Special Olympics found disturbing evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities face widespread health problems, while physicians, dentists, and other health professionals are not receiving adequate training in order to treat them.

The research reinforces previous studies that found that despite the widespread belief that individuals with intellectual disabilities receive better health care than the rest of the population, people with intellectual disabilities actually have poorer health, more specialized health care needs and greater difficulty accessing health care services and doctors compared to the general public.

Lack of access to quality health care for people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and, undoubtedly, elsewhere can be attributed in part to the lack of significant training at the student and/or resident level for both medical and dental students.

Read the source article at IssueLab