Determinants of Health Risk in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Populations

University of Rochester: National Center for Deaf Health Research

Topics:
Community Health | Healthy Youth | Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

Adults deaf since childhood report poorer health, have less access to mental health services, and are less likely to see a doctor than are adults in the general U.S. population. Few health researchers are deaf, know American Sign Language (ASL), or partner with deaf ASL-users. In addition, national health surveys are not conducted in ASL. As a result, little is known about the health risk behaviors of deaf adults and teens, or which preventable diseases are common among deaf people. Also lacking are effective strategies for preventing disease and improving physical and mental health among people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

The National Center for Deaf Health Research’s project team, which includes deaf and other ALS-fluent individuals, is working with the Deaf community in Rochester, New York, to plan and carry out health studies focused on, and inclusive of, deaf and hard-of-hearing people. One of their efforts is examining and modifying questions used in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), the National College Health Assessment (NCHA), and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)—all popular national surveys that establish health research and health education priorities for Americans. The modified English survey questions will be translated and video recorded in ASL, and pilot tested with a diverse group of deaf ASL-users.

This ASL Risk Behavior Survey will then be used with high school students from the Rochester School for the Deaf, college students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and deaf adults in Rochester. The survey results will be compared with the results of risk behavior surveys used with the general population, including YRBS results of teenagers in Rochester area public high schools, NCHA results from students at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and results from a Rochester BRFSS. After analyzing the data and collaborating with the center’s community committee, researchers will design or adapt interventions to improve the health and healthcare of deaf ASL-users and their families. The ASL Risk Behavior Survey will again be used to measure the effectiveness of those interventions.

 

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