Deaf Health Review

It is widely assumed that after deaf children receive cochlear implants (CI) they will go on to live normal lives using audition and speaking. However, research shows more nuanced results, with some children continuing to rely on signing and experiencing difficulty communicating with peers and social isolation. Much of past research on this subject is based on surveys of the parents of these children, who may report better social functioning than their children do. Dammeyer et al. surveyed 65 Danish adolescents with CI to determine their experiences with communication, social participation and friendships, and psychological well-being. The results showed that the group overall was not too different from their hearing peers. The rates of depression and being bullied was similar to the background rates. However, 20% reported feeling lonely often or all the time, double the rate of hearing Danish adolescents, and 10.8% reported having no friends. 55.4% reported feeling different from ot...

There is a strong relationship between health and quality of life. Because health disparities have been demonstrated for Deaf communities around the world, it can be expected that they would have a lower quality of life (QOL). However, like many health-related issues concerning the Deaf, there is a lack of research on this issue. Tsimpida et al. measured QOL for a convenience sample of Greek Deaf (n=86), hard-of-hearing (n=54), and hearing (n=97) community members. QOL was measured with the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v2). One of the researchers was a respected member of the Greek Deaf community, which helped foster trust and participation. The questionnaire was translated into Greek Sign Language as needed by the participants. The results showed that the Deaf scored lower on all dimensions of the QOL questionnaire (Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Role-Emotional, and Mental Health). Determinants for this included the ...

Denmark has approximately 4,000 Deaf citizens who communicate primarily with Danish Sign Language. Skøt et al. are studying the barriers for the Deaf to access healthcare and psychological services after large scale natural or man-made disasters. Since there has been a shortage of these events in Denmark, they decided to conduct semi-structured interviews with Deaf or hard-of-hearing Danish who had experienced a traumatic event. Common themes that emerged included emergency responders and healthcare workers with little training or experience working with the Deaf, lack of interpreters and reluctance by the Deaf to use some interpreters due to privacy or compatibility issues, healthcare workers relying on patients' relatives to relay communications, lack of psychologists who were trained both in trauma counseling and working with the Deaf, and lack of support groups for the Deaf. The participants provided many suggestions to improve their access to care, many of which would seem u...

It is often taken for granted that children will be able to comprehend family conversations. However, over 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, and there is often poor communication between them. Being able to understand family conversations is important for children's development in general and their health literacy as adults in particular. Hall et al. looked for correlations to Deaf adults being able to recall comprehending indirect family communications (not directed at them) while growing up. Having at least one Deaf parent was a very strong predictor of being able to comprehend these conversations, much more so than using hearing aids or cochlear implants. The authors conclude that parents of Deaf children can have an impact in reducing health disparities in the Deaf population. Hall, W.C., Smith, S.R., Sutter, E.J., DeWindt, L.A. & Dye, T.D.V. (2018). Considering parental hearing status as a social determinant of Deaf population health: Insights from...

The Deaf have been shown to have low health literacy due to factors such as poor English reading skills, a lack of ASL signs for many common medical terms, and exclusion from public health education campaigns. Low health literacy leads to health disparities and difficulty communicating with healthcare providers even with interpreters present. Havercamp et al. describe a pilot program that adapted Harvard University's Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) for a group of Deaf participants. 2 Deaf volunteers with chronic health conditions were recruited to translate the program into ASL and lead a series of 6 weekly sessions. These were designed to be highly interactive and focused on improving knowledge of common chronic health problems, self-efficacy and self-management  skills to maximize participant's functioning and ability to carry out normal daily activities. Some aspects of the program had to be modified to ensure that the participants could maintain their visu...

Environmental sounds are used for a wide range of audible alerts and safety measures, such as home alarms, car horns, emergency vehicle sirens, and tsunami warning systems. Communication is also critically important during natural disasters, such as understanding emergency broadcasts, first responders, and crisis counselors. While some audible warning devices have been modified for the Deaf, such as smoke alarms that flash strobe lights, there are no such accommodations for most audible alerts and emergency communications. Government emergency response workers are often not trained in how to assist the Deaf. There is a scarcity of research on how the health of the Deaf is affected by these issues.  Takayama reports that the mortality rate of the Deaf population affected by the Kobe and Tohoku earthquakes in Japan (which took place in 1995 and 2011, respectively) was significantly higher than that of the total population of these regions. This is attributed to the Deaf not bei...

Cumberland et al. conducted a health education program designed to increase the knowledge of breast cancer and rate of obtaining a mammogram among a group of Deaf women over the age of 40. An intense effort was undertaken to make the educational materials and outcome measures culturally appropriate for the study participants.  The intervention group received training specific for breast cancer, while the control group received more general cancer education. 197 women went through the program and 182 completed the 12-month follow-up outcomes. The program materials were well-received by the participants and intention to obtain a mammogram significantly increased in the intervention group. The percentage of women who had received a mammogram during the previous 12 months increased in both groups at the 12-month follow-up. Article is gated Cumberland, W. G., Berman, B. A., Zazove, P., Sadler, G. R., Jo, A., Booth, H., et al. (2018). A breast cancer education program for D/deaf ...