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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Impact Of The Covid-19 Mask Mandate On Effective Communication Between Healthcare Providers And Deaf/Hoh Patients, Antonia J. Conti, Alexa Gingerich
The Impact Of The Covid-19 Mask Mandate On Effective Communication Between Healthcare Providers And Deaf/Hoh Patients, Antonia J. Conti, Alexa Gingerich
Rowan-Virtua Research Day
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries mandated the use of facial masks in public environments, especially in healthcare settings.[3] While this was beneficial in reducing the spread of the coronavirus disease, it created many challenges for the deaf/HoH community.[4] In particular, it limited effective communication between healthcare providers and deaf/HoH patients. It was found that masks limit word recognition for both deaf/HoH and non-deaf/HoH individuals. Additionally, both surgical and N95 masks hinder word recognition for deaf/HoH individuals and significantly impact communication during medical appointments.