Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

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.

The Deaf Experience In National Parks With An Emphasis On Rocky Mountain National Park, Madeline Dannewitz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research investigated the experiences of Deaf visitors to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The little research available focuses on how the National Park Service and its workers interact with Deaf people. Conversely, this study investigated the experiences of Deaf people and their perspective regarding interacting with the park and its members. A study regarding Deaf visitors in Yosemite National Park found that many were invisible to its employees. The desire from the Deaf community and lack of research shows the significance of this study. This analysis is crucial to the human experience as quality of life is improved …

Addressing The Need For Depression Inventories In American Sign Language, Josephine F. Wilson, Michelle Niehaus, Jared A. Embree, Deb S. Guthmann, Steven R. Sligar, Janet C. Titus, Annie Welch, Kathy Taylor

JADARA

Using state-of-the-art techniques, the authors interpreted two commonly used depression inventories, the revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9), into American Sign Language (ASL): BDI-II-ASL and PHQ-9-ASL, respectively. A national sample of 361 deaf individuals who preferentially use ASL completed the BDI-II-ASL and PHQ-9-ASL online. BDI-II-ASL and PHQ-9-ASL scores were significantly and positively correlated. The results showed no significant differences in scores due to gender, Deaf cultural identification, race, ethnicity, or employment status. However, the results did show that less education was significantly associated with higher depression scores. The BDI-II-ASL and PHQ-9-ASL require norming in a comparative …

Improving Communication Access With Deaf People Through Nursing Simulation: A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration, Jamie L. Mccartney Ph.D., Tracy Gidden, Jennifer Biggs, Kathy Geething, Karl Kosko Ph.D.

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

Baccalaureate nursing and sign language interpreting students participated in a pediatric discharge simulation with a deaf person playing the role of the baby’s parent. At the conclusion of the simulation, participants were emailed a consent letter and a link to a 17-item questionnaire developed by the authors. Responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, whereby nonparametric statistics were calculated to examine Likert-scale items. A Mann-Whitney test statistic was calculated, instead of an independent samples t-test, given the smaller sample in the current study (n = 26). A question was posed to participants that evaluated their self-perception of the effectiveness of …

Psychometric Properties Of The Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (Sbq-R) In American Sign Language, Jared A. Embree, Amanda M. Hinson-Enslin, Kathy Taylor, Josephine Wilson

JADARA

Limited research has focused on the risk of suicide within the deaf community, and no published studies to date report SBQ-R scores in deaf populations. The purpose of this study was to adapt the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised into American Sign Language (SBQ-R-ASL). After the translation protocol was completed, the SBQ-R-ASL was field-tested with 340 deaf individuals in a national sample. Data analysis indicated satisfactory validity and internal consistency, and a Principal Components Analysis resulted in one factor. Field-test data revealed a mean SBQ-R-ASL score of 8.76, which is above published cutoff scores for suicide risk. These findings demonstrate a crucial …

Connection Impacts Experience During Early Intervention And Elco Process, Gabriela Fuentes

Poster Presentations

This partnership with the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MECDHH) led to a comprehensive understanding of program management and immersion in the Deaf community, providing insight into their unique cultural norms. The poster showcases the early intervention experiences of families and children through the Exploring Language Communication Opportunities (ELCO) process.

Unheard Victims Of Covid-19: The Impact Of Mask Use On Communication For D/Deaf And Hard Of Hearing People, Kym Couch

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Masks are effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19, but they also impact communication for d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people. This research is a mixed methods approach to analyzing the impact that the widespread use of masks in response to COVID-19 has had on DHH people. Building on the allowance for nuance and paradox presented by Deborah Stone in her book Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making (2012) and holding to the Social Model of Disability, this research involves the qualitative and quantitative analysis of a survey of one-hundred and ninety-eight (198) DHH people, interviews with …

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Barriers To Providing Services To The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children Ages 2–9, Irene S. García-Benavides

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the knowledge and experiences of 12 speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding the culture and linguistic processes of the Deaf culture when assessing and treating deaf and hard of hearing children ages 2 to 9. Data analysis has resulted in identification of the following main themes: (a) The Scope of Practice, (b) Barriers Regarding Culturally and Linguistically Informed Practices, and (c) Awareness of Similarities and Differences in Language Acquisition and Structures in English and American Sign Language (ASL). The findings of this study underscored the importance of knowledge that SLPs have to acquire in order to provide …

Taking Down Barriers To Work With People Who Are Deaf, Grace Kite

2023 SLP Posters

This poster presents information from the literature regarding the preparedness of SLPs to work with the deaf and hard-of-hearing population compared to the hearing population when enrolled in an intervention program related to speech, language, and listening development.

Peer Socialization For Individuals Who Are Deaf/Hard Of Hearing, Alyssa Keune

2023 SLP Posters

Peer relationships are needed for positive development, but children who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) experience difficulties when socializing with their typically hearing peers. This poster will provide an overview of various supports that can be put in place to facilitate socialization for DHH children with their hearing peers. Opportunities for practitioners and parents to promote peer socialization will be provided.

Benefits Of Interprofessional Collaboration For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students, Samantha Schuneman

2023 SLP Posters

Interprofessional collaboration is essential to serve and maximize outcomes for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Speech-language pathologists, audiologists, otolaryngologists, and educators are among the many professionals that serve deaf and hard of hearing students. Although each of these professionals serve this population, interprofessional collaboration is often minimal and lacking. Strategies to implement successful interprofessional collaboration will be identified, as well as why interprofessional collaboration for the deaf and hard of hearing population is crucial. The impact of interprofessional collaboration on outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing students will also be discussed.

Deaf And Hard Of Hearing College Students’ Experiences With Alcohol And Related Consequences, Christine Lee Gannon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alcohol misuse on college campuses has been shown to be the cause of physical, socio-emotional, and academic harm. Alcohol is also an issue at Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts university for the deaf, but there is a gap in the literature describing the phenomenon in the environment and how to address it. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions and experiences of alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences for deaf and hard of hearing college students through interviews with 50 students and staff at Gallaudet University. Alcohol misuse and related harms were explored through the framework of the social ecological …

Telepractice-Based Assessment Of Children Who Are Deaf/Hard-Of-Hearing: Focus On Family-Centered Practice, Kristina M. Blaiser, Lauri Nelson, K. Todd Houston

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Ongoing assessment and progress monitoring is considered best practice to serve children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) yet logistics related to provider shortages, distances between families, and illness make regular assessment difficult if not impossible. In the last ten years, telepractice has become a more commonly used service delivery model for serving children who are DHH and their families, however, many providers lack the training needed to adequately assess this population (Behl & Kahn, 2015). With explicit planning of the assessments and tools needed on both sides of the camera, providers can create a shared framework to collect the information needed …

Implementing A D/Deaf Educational Module For Graduate Nursing Students, Brenda J. Pauley

Dissertations

Problem: Nurse practitioners lack knowledge and skills to effectively communicate with D/deaf individuals which potentiates risk for health disparities and gaps in care. Graduate nursing programs rarely incorporate D/deaf-focused education in their curriculums.

Methods: This descriptive quality improvement project implemented the first D/deaf-focused educational online module at a Midwestern university’s College of Nursing. A purposive sample of 38 BSN-DNP students enrolled in the Spring Intensive completed a pre- and post-education survey. Both surveys assessed students’ D/deaf perceptions through Lewis and Keele’s (2020) D/deaf and Hard of Hearing Interaction Beliefs Scale for Registered Nurses (DdHH-IBS/RN) and evaluated students’ knowledge through a …

The Process Of Planning A Professional Conference, Erin Wood

Poster Presentations

Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is planning a spring conference for parent and professionals to bring together and raise awareness of parents and professionals in the Deaf and hard of hearing community. They are taking family-based feedback of needs in the field and are using a conference to support those in this community and address those needs to a broad range of professionals and families.

Maine Educational Center For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing (Mecdhh): Needs Assessment, Hamda Ahmed

Poster Presentations

MECDHH/GBSD has formed a collaborative partnership with several statewide agencies in Maine that serves children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. Early screening for children is necessary to provide them the right services. Based on research done in 2018, approximately one in three children did not receive any follow up testing and received no diagnosis. In addition, the social determinants of health plays a big role when it comes to service delivery knowing that Maine is mostly a rural area. In this presentation, we will focus on the activities and the needed priorities identified in the …

An Examination Of The Spelling Patterns Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Elementary School Students, Emma Villanueva

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Learning how to spell and applying knowledge from the five domains of language to spelling (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) is an essential component of academic success. In order to excel in school, all students need to learn how to spell. Students who are D/deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) often struggle with spelling due to most methods of spelling education involving connecting spoken/heard sounds to letters, syllables, and words. There is limited research available regarding the methods deaf and hard-of-hearing students use to spell as well as error patterns typically made by this population.

The purpose of this research …

The Effect Of Telepractice On Vocal Interaction Between Provider, Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Pediatric Patients, And Caregivers., Abigail Betts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how telepractice affects a vocal interaction between a speech-language pathologist (SLP), deaf and hard-of-hearing children who received cochlear implants (n = 7), and caregivers as they engage in speech-language interventions conducted in-person and via telepractice (tele). Frequency of vocalizations, vocal turns, pause duration, fundamental frequency (F0) mean and range, utterance duration, syllable rate per utterance duration, and mean length of utterance (MLU) were examined. The SLP vocalized more during in-person than tele-sessions, opposite result for the mother. There were more SLP-child turns during in-person sessions than tele-sessions; opposite result for mother-child turns. …

Examination Of Spelling Skills Of Elementary Students Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Lacey Simpson

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Spelling is a crucial skill that children must learn to read, write, and communicate effectively, but this comes with challenges for students with hearing loss. Linguistic processes, such as phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic awareness, semantic awareness, and mental graphemic representations are building blocks to understanding how to spell words accurately but are more difficult to grasp and apply with hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spelling skills of deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students to identify which linguistic processes need to be corrected and strengthened. By identifying which linguistic processes need remediation, educators …

Nurses Leading In Bridging The Culture Gap: Communicating With The Deaf Community, Veronica C. Leftridge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nurses provide patient care in clinics, hospitals, homes, churches, schools, communities, and military, as well as on emergency medical helicopters. When a nurse is assigned to care for a patient, the patient expects the nurse to be culturally competent, communicate effectively, and provide safe quality care. However, cultural incompetence is observed when nurses provide care for Deaf patients, but they are unfamiliar with Deaf culture. In addition, communication is a fundamental skill nurses learn in nursing school, but course content in nursing programs rarely touches on how to communicate effectively with Deaf patients. Of the approximately 325 million people in …

Deficits In Health Literacy And Inadequacies Of Specialized Health Care In The South For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Patients, Kaleb Kittrell

Honors Theses

Health literacy is a constantly evolving concept that requires similarly evolving adaptation and specialization of health care to increase the quality of life for all. One demographic that is largely ignored when it comes to research in health literacy, specifically in the traditional South, is the d/Deaf and hard of hearing/Hard of Hearing (DHH) population. The purpose of this study is to determine the general health literacy of this specific demographic and compare results with that of other demographics to highlight the anticipated deficit in health literacy levels and emphasize the critical need for specialized care. This prospective, non-experimental, descriptive …

Deficits In Health Literacy And Inadequacies Of Specialized Health Care In The South For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Patients, Kaleb Kittrell

Poster Presentations

Honors Thesis poster presentation.

Health literacy is a constantly evolving concept that requires similarly evolving adaptation and specialization of health care to increase the quality of life for all. One demographic that is largely ignored when it comes to research in health literacy, specifically in the traditional South, is the d/Deaf and hard of hearing/Hard of Hearing (DHH) population. The purpose of this study is to determine the general health literacy of this specific demographic and compare results with that of other demographics to highlight the anticipated deficit in health literacy levels and emphasize the critical need for specialized care. …

The Importance Of Learning Deaf Culture Through A Black Deaf Perspective In The Field Of Communication Sciences And Disorders, Lindsay Lee

Honors College Theses

As the diversity in the demographics of clinical populations increases in the United States, clinicians must also be accountable for learning the culture of their patients. The Deaf community, specifically individuals who identify with Deaf culture and Black Deaf culture, is a multifaceted, cultural group that has been marginalized within various settings including social, political, and employment settings, including academic and clinical research. This review will examine the historical developments within Deaf History in the United States, the injustices related to Deaf culture, and more specifically Black Deaf culture, and discuss the critical need for Deaf research and tools that …

A Pilot Study: An Evaluation Of Accessibility Of Resources For Parents Of D/Deaf/Hoh Children In Ky/Tn, Amara Danturthi

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Most parents of d/Deaf/Hoh children are not Deaf, making it imperative for easy access to diverse strategies to ensure smooth communication between them and their child. Parents make the paramount decision of what their child’s first language should be, therefore, access to current information on communication strategies is crucial in this journey. Many families fall on resources sometimes from sources in different formats to understand what may work best for them. The accessibility and availability of these resources are a crucial component in the parent’s decision-making process. Due to the unique dynamics between hearing parents and d/Deaf/Hoh children, this pilot …

Communication Resources For Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Children In Mississippi: Parents’ Perspectives, Julia Rossano

Honors Theses

A parent’s ability to communicate with their child through formative years may often be taken for granted, as the options for such communication seem intuitive and apparent. However, hearing parents of children with hearing loss must not only make a choice between several communication methods, but they must also navigate an environment where the methodologies are not clearly delineated. Blaiser and colleague provide succinct descriptions of the most common methods which can be chosen. These methods include listening and spoken language systems, manual-visual systems, and systems combining these two modalities (Blaiser & Bargen, 2018). This choice is often challenging because …

Healthcare Altruism And Dysconscious Healthism In The Delivery Of Integrated Healthcare Services To Individuals Who Are Deaf, Hard Of Hearing, And Deafblind, Jaime A.B. Wilson, Michael John Gournaris

JADARA

Healthcare altruism and dysconscious healthism are terms proposed to recognize the barriers to healthcare access faced by not only individuals with hearing loss but also all minority populations. The implications of an integrated healthcare model to provide services to individuals who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, or DeafBlind (D/HH/DB) are explored. Unique insights are then offered regarding existing barriers to healthcare access and the next steps.

Hearing Loss Prevalence And Years Lived With Disability, 1990–2019: Findings From The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Ismaeel Yunusa, Lydia M. Haile, Kaloyan Kamenov, Paul Svitil Briant, Aislyn U. Orji, Jaimie D. Steinmetz, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Background

Hearing loss affects access to spoken language, which can affect cognition and development, and can negatively affect social wellbeing. We present updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study on the prevalence of hearing loss in 2019, as well as the condition's associated disability.

Methods

We did systematic reviews of population-representative surveys on hearing loss prevalence from 1990 to 2019. We fitted nested meta-regression models for severity-specific prevalence, accounting for hearing aid coverage, cause, and the presence of tinnitus. We also forecasted the prevalence of hearing loss until 2050.

Findings

An estimated 1.57 billion (95% uncertainty interval …

Exploring Accessibility And Social Inclusion For Children With Hearing Impairments In Residential Camps Through The Occupational Therapy Lens, Tiffany Coles

Student Capstone Papers

Children are encouraged to engage in various play, leisure, and social participation activities to enhance the development of life skills, independence, and social skills. A common leisure and social participation activity for children aged 6 to 18-years-old is to attend residential camp. Residential camps provide children a structured opportunity to engage in leisure activities while learning to become independent and self-confident when socializing and making new friends. Attending camp can be a fun and engaging environment to help accelerate growth in key developmental outcomes, such as positive identity, social skills, physical skills, positive values, and spirituality.

Within the residential camp …

Language Deprivation Is A Game Changer For The Clinical Specialty Of Deaf Mental Health, Neil S. Glickman, Charlene Crump, Steve Hamerdinger

JADARA

In this paper, the medical, social and historical forces resulting in much smaller numbers of deaf children having quality access to natural sign languages are presented. These forces mean that people who work in the clinical specialty of Deaf mental health are seeing more clients with atypical or dysfluent sign language. An historical overview of the development of this clinical specialty is outlined, followed by a discussion of how the problem of language deprivation is a “game changer” for the work of mental health clinicians, interpreters, communication assessors, and administrators of Deaf mental health services. Special attention is given to …

Expressive Vocabulary Development In Very Young Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Amanda Mcnamara Rudge

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study aimed to explore the expressive vocabulary growth rate of children ages birth to three years, who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh). An additional aim was to investigate hours of direct instruction received during early intervention as a factor that may contribute to the trajectories of expressive vocabulary growth in young children who are d/hh. Hierarchical linear modeling with growth curve analysis was used to investigate expressive vocabulary growth in a population of d/hh children using multiple points of longitudinal vocabulary data. A total of 417 assessments across the 105 participants were analyzed to determine the …