Availability and accessibility of healthcare for deaf and hard of hearing patients

Abstract

It is well documented that both ethnic/cultural

differences as well as language differences complicate a satisfying and

effective doctor-patient relationship. Although these differences are also

present during communication between Deaf patients and their hearing physicians, the volume and quality of research on healthcare facilities for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people has not kept up with research on hearing people. This thesis studied the barriers experienced by this patient group, their nature and impact, and possible (cost-effective) solutions to tackle these barriers. The theoretical background, development and use of a guideline to translate and validate standardized questionnaires into sign language is described. The barriers in providing healthcare for severely DHH patients can be classed as follows: 1) communication barriers, 2) barriers due to limited health knowledge and 3) barriers due to deaf cultural features. The results of these studies indicate that DHH people in the Netherlands experience a significantly lower physical, and often also psychological quality of life compared to the rest of the population. Several countries provide specialized facilities to improve healthcare access for this patient group. Though most of these services are likely to be cost-effective, no scientific data are available to support this assumption.