Examining the differences of perceptions and experience with online health information accessibility between deaf and hearing individuals: A qualitative study.
P Paul Chandanabhumma, Samantha Ratakonda, Tiffany Panko and 5 others
PMID 38325209WHAT IT FOUND
Deaf participants described online health information as harder to use because medical terms and locating information blocked them, while hearing participants found organized text helpful.
Deaf participants asked for text accommodations, ASL videos and help from trusted clinicians.
Key findings
01Deaf participants reported more difficulty accessing and understanding online health information than hearing participants, including medical jargon and locating desired information.
02Deaf participants often used exact words from the task, relied on search-engine suggestions and intuition.
03Deaf participants recommended text accommodations, appropriately designed ASL videos, large print, multiple pictures and community-oriented sharing.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The findings come from the qualitative portion of a mixed-methods study, so they describe experiences and themes, not measured effects. The study looked at experiences at one time point, so it cannot show cause and effect. The sample was purposefully selected and may not represent all Deaf or hearing adults. COVID-19 disruptions prevented a balanced Deaf and hearing sample and limited exploration of hearing participants with different health literacy levels. Interviews focused on the search task and may not have covered all relevant everyday information-seeking topics. The study did not examine how search algorithms shape the results participants see.
Declared interests
No conflicts-of-interest declaration is included in the supplied text. The article is marked as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that online health information is equally accessible for Deaf and hearing adults or that ASL videos and text accommodations have been shown to work. This was a qualitative study of experiences and recommendations, not a test of these approaches.