This scoping review investigates the communication preferences of individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing receiving healthcare in the medical setting. While this review targets physician interactions, the summarized conclusions may be applicable to audiologists and speech-language pathologists in the healthcare setting.
No funding received
January 2011 to June 2021
Peer-reviewed studies (not further specified)
10
When communicating with providers in the healthcare setting, Deaf and hard of hearing patients report a preference for communicating with in-person professional interpreters, followed by writing, lip-reading, and video remote interpreting. Reported barriers to communication include poor translation accuracy with non-professional sign language interpreters, inadequate sign language lexicon, and physical/visual barriers (e.g., masks, poor video quality via telepractice). "In many of the studies, multitudinous Deaf respondents expressed frustration at not being understood and therefore having trouble achieving a desired level of care" (p. 2847). The authors conclude that "healthcare professionals need to appreciate the heterogeneity of Deaf patients and their communication methods, and adopt a person-centred approach that takes account of intersectional characteristics as well as the patients’ deafness. Significant effort is needed to prevent inadvertent harm as a result of miscommunication and facilitate a higher standard of patient care for the Deaf populace" (p. 2848). Limitations of this review include a lack of studies from low- and middle-income countries and methodological bias toward literate study participants.
