Predictors of health literacy among Deaf American Sign Language users.
Michael M McKee, Melissa Plegue, Sara Champlin and 6 others
PMID 40992095WHAT IT FOUND
Deaf ASL users were 3.7 times more likely to have inadequate health literacy than hearing participants.
Higher ASL fluency and English reading grade level were linked to better health literacy.
Key findings
01Deaf participants had 3.7 times higher odds of inadequate health literacy than hearing participants.
02Among Deaf signers, greater ASL fluency and higher English reading grade level were associated with adequate health literacy.
03Inadequate health literacy was more likely among Deaf participants who identified as Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Patients of Color, and Hispanic Patients of Color compared with hearing participants in the same groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The Deaf group was not as racially diverse as the hearing group, even though the team tried to recruit more People of Color. People with moderate or better hearing levels found by audiometry, and people who reported being hard of hearing, were not included, so results may not apply to them. Participants were recruited through community channels in three metropolitan areas, which may not represent Deaf signers everywhere. Race and ethnicity were not put into the main regression model because the researchers expected them to act as confounders, so the model does not directly adjust for them. Deaf and hearing participants completed different language proficiency tests, so their fluency scores are not directly comparable.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that poor ASL fluency or reading causes low health literacy, or that every Deaf ASL user has low health literacy. The study reports group associations, and the 3.7 times higher odds is a comparison between groups, not a certainty for one patient.