Lightening Can Strike Twice: A National Partnership Promoting Breast Health among Women with Disabilities

**Published in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) volume 16.4. All rights reserved.** ABSTRACT Background: Women with disabilities are less likely to receive recommended screenings for breast cancer, which is often related to lack of knowledge about screening. Lightening Can Strike Twice was a project aimed at understanding barriers and improving knowledge about breast cancer screening among this population in the National Capital Region (NCR). Objectives: We describe a partnership between national organizations and an academic institution that provided educational workshops and coaching sessions to increase knowledge of breast cancer screening among this population in this region. Methods: Twenty-two workshops and 56 coaching sessions were offered from 2017-2019. Pre-session surveys were used to collect data on participant demographics and barriers and post-session evaluations were used to determine improved knowledge and likelihood of scheduling a future screening. Conclusions: A total of 299 women attended the workshops and 56 women were coached over the two-year project period. Pre-workshop surveys assessed demographics and barriers among workshop participants and highlighted the need for education on obtaining a screening. Post-workshop evaluations showed that most participants strongly agreed that their understanding of the benefits of screening had increased and that they were more likely to schedule a screening. The national partners were able to address the lack of knowledge of breast cancer risks and screening among this population and identify future opportunities within the targeted community.