Disparities in health literacy during the COVID-19 pandemic between the hearing and deaf communities.
Hashemiah Almusawi, Khalid Alasim, Sumaya BinAli and 1 others
PMID 34624721WHAT IT FOUND
Deaf or hard of hearing people in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia scored lower on 15 of 19 COVID-19 knowledge items, especially those with moderate or worse hearing loss or using sign language only.
They also had less access to interpreters and medical advice.
Key findings
01Deaf or hard of hearing participants scored less than hearing participants on 15 of the 19 COVID-19 awareness items.
02Moderate or worse hearing loss was linked to an average score reduction of -4.669 points, and exclusive sign language use to -7.570 points, after other variables were held constant.
03Only 30% of deaf or hard of hearing participants were aware of medical advice services during quarantine, compared with 40% of hearing participants; 37.5% needed sign language interpreters in emergencies, but only 20% had one available.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, with only 40 deaf or hard of hearing participants. Recruitment used snowball sampling, so the authors note a sampling bias of undetermined significance. The questionnaire measured knowledge and self-reported views at one time, so it cannot show that hearing loss or sign language use caused lower scores. Participants were recruited only in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and the study did not test whether any communication service improved knowledge or health outcomes. Sign language interpretation was offered but not used, so the study did not assess whether accessible interpretation changes knowledge.
Declared interests
The funding statement says none. The authors report no declarations of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that all deaf or hard of hearing people have poorer COVID-19 knowledge. The lower scores were linked to moderate or worse hearing loss and exclusive sign language use, and the survey design cannot show that these factors caused the knowledge gap.