Disparities in health literacy during the COVID-19 pandemic between the hearing and deaf communities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Barriers to communication for those with hearing loss are not only associated with social, emotional, educational and occupational difficulties, but also with reduced access to essential healthcare services, health information, and poorer health outcomes (Emond et al., 2015). These concerns are amplified with mandates such as physical distancing and the use of masks, which although needed to prevent respiratory transmission of SARS-Cov-2, obscure access to facial features needed for lipreading and sign language.

Objectives

To compare the disparities of health knowledge and practice surrounding COVID-19, if any, among hearing and Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals.

Methods

A total of 110 (70 hearing and 40 DHH) participants were recruited in the uniqu

SUBMITTER: Almusawi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8488063 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature