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. 2023 Jul:112:107743.
doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.107743. Epub 2023 Apr 11.

Healthcare communication access among deaf and hard-of-hearing people during pregnancy

Tyler G James  1 , Tiffany Panko  2 , Lauren D Smith  3 , Kaila V T Helm  4 , Gabrielle R Katz  3 , Madeline E Caballero  5 , Margarita M Cooley  3 , Monika Mitra  3 , Michael M McKee  6
Affiliations

Healthcare communication access among deaf and hard-of-hearing people during pregnancy

Tyler G James et al. Patient Educ Couns. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) people report ineffective healthcare communication. Limited research has been conducted on healthcare communication during pregnancy. This study's aim was to assess communication accommodations and experiences during pregnancy for DHH people.

Methods: An accessible web-based survey was administered to a non-probability sample of DHH people through national organizations, social media, and snowball sampling. Eligibility criteria included being 21 years or older; given birth in the U.S. within the past 10 years, report hearing loss prior to the most recent birth. Questions focused on healthcare experiences and information access during their last pregnancy. The sample included 583 respondents for the present analysis. We describe the communication accommodations requested and received during pregnancy, segmented by preferred language.

Results: Most DHH participants reported communication with prenatal clinicians as "good" or "very good". On-site interpreter services were most commonly requested by American Sign Language (ASL) only and bilingual DHH people. Interpersonal communication modification requests (e.g., speaking louder) were rarely obliged.

Conclusion: This study is the first national examination of requested and received communication accommodations for DHH patients during the perinatal period.

Practice implications: Healthcare providers should work closely with patients to ensure effective communication access is provided.

Keywords: Deaf and hard-of-hearing; Health communication; Obstetrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of interest All authors have no conflicts of interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion of respondents requesting an accommodation during the perinatal care process, by language and accommodation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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