Deaf older adults' experiences of receiving old age care support.
Elin Karlsson, Yashar Mahmud, Susanne Andersson and 4 others
PMID 42113483WHAT IT FOUND
Six Swedish Deaf older adults said care staff who did not sign left them unable to choose help, share needs, or trust visits.
They relied on relatives, paper notes, lip-reading, and felt isolated.
Key findings
01Lack of signing home care staff made it hard to communicate needs and wishes, leading to feelings of helplessness and insecurity.
02Participants preferred staff who knew even a few signs and valued continuity, because familiar staff made communication easier and reduced embarrassment about using their voice.
03All participants reported having no one with whom they could communicate in sign language on a daily basis, and all expressed sadness at losing activities and contact with Deaf friends.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only six Deaf older adults were included, and they were chosen by convenience sampling, so their experiences may not represent other Deaf older adults in Sweden. All participants lived in the same county, and details were withheld to protect confidentiality, so it is hard to judge how far these findings transfer. Two participants withdrew after one interview because of health issues, so the study rests on a small and changing group. This is a qualitative interview study, not a trial or measured outcome, so it cannot show that any care change improved independence, trust, loneliness, or safety. The authors state that few comparable studies exist, so direct comparison with previous work is limited.
Declared interests
Funders named were The Anders Hultman’s Foundation, The Siblings Inger and Sixten Norheds Foundation, Alzheimer Society, Canada, and Forte Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare. The supplied text gives these funders and does not list author conflict disclosures.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that signing staff improve care outcomes. The study interviewed six people about their experiences, and it did not test an intervention.