In the healthcare profession, providers must have the expertise to comprehend the requirements of patients from diverse backgrounds. Nonetheless, a DHH population has certain difficulties needing specialist care. Language obstacles may make it difficult to provide these patients with quality healthcare. Training on the proper use of culturally appropriate communication techniques, such as signing interpreters and other assistive technologies, should be provided to healthcare personnel. Acknowledging the heterogeneity of the DHH community and its many linguistic and cultural backgrounds is essential to providing equitable and effective treatment to every patient. This article emphasizes how crucial it is to understand the requirements of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Deaf/HoH) community in the context of healthcare.
Area of Interest and Personal Motivation
My interest in health care for the deaf, deaf, and hard of hearing (DHH) stems from a deep desire for social equality, which may be achieved via inclusive and equitable healthcare. When I look at healthcare from the lens of a professional, every individual, regardless of physical ability, deserves great medical treatment that is also culturally relevant. The latter is based on recognizing the hurdles and injustices that the DHH community faces in the healthcare system, with its flaws. One of my most important motivations is the urgent need to reduce healthcare disparities among DHH individuals. Language obstacles between healthcare workers and DHH patients exacerbate communication challenges, resulting in care or faulty status. Inequities can manifest in various ways, such as incorrect interpretations of medical consultations or a lack of relevant health information due to a lack of corresponding communication accommodations. To bridge these gaps, I will work hard to serve this community more readily and be a part of the DHH community’s common goal of improving healthcare outcomes.
My interest in this sector grew due to my practical experience caring for and fighting for DHH patients. These exchanges serve as a reminder that everyone has various needs and wants, which should be considered while delivering care. For example, I have realized that while this is going on, deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals are being excluded from critical healthcare debates and decision-making processes since the interactions are entirely one-way and use only spoken language. Such knowledge reaffirms my commitment to improving communication skills and making health services more accessible in healthcare. Furthermore, I feel motivated and inspired as I maintain my engagement in broad social trends toward increasing tolerance and diversity. The healthcare industry plays an essential role in promoting the same ideas. Participating in the DHH community and fighting for them will ensure that all members of the healthcare community are recognized and acknowledged, regardless of their deafness, disability, or hearing impairment.
I fully support investing in information and personal development to achieve this aim. Learning sign language to communicate with DHH patients is as crucial to improving my fieldwork as gaining cultural competency. Aside from that, I work on creating policies and proposing institutional modifications that uphold accessibility and address the wide range of requirements of the HDD community. I aim to become a skilled and committed practitioner who provides high-quality care to all patients while advocating for equity and inclusivity in healthcare delivery. Through my participation, I hope to effectuate the essential changes that will result in removing obstacles, advancing knowledge, and the development of a favourable healthcare environment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing and people with hearing impairments.
Understanding the Deaf, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing Community
The terms “deaf” and “Deaf” have distinct meanings that correspond to various aspects of the conditions that Deaf people experience. People classified as lowercase deaf often have profound hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is typically characterized by the inability to improve without assistance, such as from a speech therapist, or the use of a technology, such as a hearing aid (Aldalur, 2021). They can suggest expressing ideas using assistive technology, speechreading, sign language, and other techniques. On the other hand, the capitalization of “Deaf” denotes a cultural identity. Since they can converse and speak their language, those from the Deaf culture who primarily communicate by signing may argue that they do not have a hearing loss. They strongly identify themselves as members of a particular cultural and language minority with its own set of common values, norms, and past experiences. Sign language and deafness are intrinsically linked to both internal and external communication. For Deaf people, their language encompasses their whole identities and social lives.
The term “hard of hearing” is more inclusive, as it refers to persons with varied degrees of hearing loss, ranging from mild to practically complete hearing loss. It is common among persons who are hard of hearing to have some residual hearing, allowing them to continue using vocal communication as their primary mode of engagement. They might benefit from hearing aids, cochlear implants, or other assistive devices to improve their hearing and communication abilities (Ahlin, 2023). The range of sign language used by deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals is diverse and offers important insights. Many hearing loss patients have a wide range of communication options and skills. However, some deaf and hard-of-hearing persons would rather use sign language to facilitate communication. At the same time, people who cannot speak might need a hearing aid or other hearing equipment. Furthermore, since hearing loss becomes more prevalent with age, cultural background and personal experience, all play a role in developing an individual’s communication abilities.
Importance of Knowledge and Awareness
Developing proficiency in DHH culture and confronting their issues and obstacles is essential for any healthcare practitioner seeking to offer sensitive and devoted treatment. The DHH community includes diverse people with varying communication styles, healthcare experiences, and cultural values. Understanding their views allows healthcare practitioners to optimize their patient-centered care strategy, resulting in more collaboration and better health results. Recognizing the variety in the DHH community is an essential component of knowing the DHH community fully. This group includes people who are culturally deaf and primarily communicate using sign language, while most identify with Deaf culture (Aldalur, 2021). Many others do not have normal hearing and communicate using spoken language, hearing aids, or Cochlear implants. While hearing loss is a common experience for people with varying degrees of hearing loss, each person’s experience is unique because it is impacted by factors such as age of onset, degree of hearing loss, and availability of resources like education and technology.
Communication is also more effective and complete when a skilled sign language interpreter or assistive technology is used during medical appointments. Healthcare practitioners with this understanding may then tailor their communication tactics to meet these demands. By doing so, the doctor respects the patient’s autonomy and dignity while reducing the possibility of misinterpretation or misunderstanding in medical information and treatment plans (Huyck et al., 2021). Identifying the socioeconomic determinants of health that influence the DHH population is also important. Many persons in the local community face challenges to healthcare access, such as a lack of culturally sensitive and language-specific services, prejudice, or a lack of knowledge of health terms. These disparities cause DHH groups to become ill more frequently and have poorer health than the overall population.
Improving Healthcare Delivery
My experiences providing healthcare to deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) persons have greatly improved my ability to administer necessary healthcare that matches their specific requirements. Communication tactics were also successfully implemented on this trip. Working with the deaf and hard of hearing exposed me to a variety of communication strategies, such as the use of visual aids and the use of skilled sign language interpreters. I also taught myself sign language. Not only has relevant and appropriate information been conveyed effectively through communication utilities, but trust and rapport have also been greatly enhanced, resulting in improved patient participation and informed decision-making. Learning about the special healthcare needs of DHH patients has proven beneficial to me. I even understood that ordinary processes such as informed consent or medical history collection may need to be modified to accommodate the various communicating styles. Knowing and adjusting to such facts allows me to change my methods and provide better treatment to each patient, improving the quality of healthcare.
Furthermore, my increased understanding of the numerous barriers that DHH persons face while seeking healthcare motivates me to advocate for system-level improvements. I always try to promote accessible technology in hospital settings, advocate for language policy reforms that facilitate language support services, and contribute to establishing an inclusive culture in healthcare organizations. By advocating for these improvements, I will try to ensure that DHH patients have equitable access to healthcare services and are treated fairly and compassionately.
In addition, my experience has made me realize how important cultural awareness and competency are while providing healthcare services. I can now identify the language and cultural diversity among the deaf and hard-of-hearing population because of this experience, which enables me to give difficult clients the best treatment possible. This knowledge curve has also forced me to continue my education and training to keep up with the most recent standards for treating the medical issues of individuals with hearing loss and to guarantee that I am always improving my abilities.
The most valuable thing I have learned in my profession is the experience of providing care for persons with DHH. By utilizing efficient communication techniques, developing a deeper understanding of each patient’s unique needs, advocating for changes to the healthcare system, and embracing cultural competence, I have become proficient in delivering patient-centered care that upholds each person’s independence and dignity. In order to remove these obstacles and ensure that everyone with DHH has fair access to healthcare, I intend to keep pushing for inclusivity and gaining more information.
Conclusion
This commitment to equal treatment and a patient-focused approach serves as the driving force behind serving the Deaf, the Deaf, and people with hearing impairment in medical settings. As a result of my expanded knowledge and comprehension in this area, I am more equipped to provide accessible and culturally competent care to individuals from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Accepting diversity and recognizing the unique requirements of this group may improve the quality of treatment provided. However, it promotes a more equitable and compassionate approach to managing healthcare resources.
References
Ahlin, T., & Hiddinga, A. (2023). Technological socialities: The impact of information and communication technologies on belonging among deaf and hard‐of‐hearing people. Sociology Compass, 17(5), e13068. https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/soc4.13068
Aldalur, A., Pick, L. H., & Schooler, D. (2021). Navigating deaf and hearing cultures: An exploration of deaf acculturative stress. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 26(3), 299–313. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enab014
Huyck, J. J., Anbuhl, K. L., Buran, B. N., Adler, H. J., Atcherson, S. R., Cakmak, O., … & Steyger, P. S. (2021, October). Supporting equity and inclusion of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in professional organizations. In Frontiers in education (Vol. 6, p. 755457). Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.755457
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