FYI, the University of Washington School of Medicine and their  
hospital on campus have some innovative programs around this issue.  
As I understand it, the Seattle area has one of the highest  
populations in the country of people who are hearing impaired.

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Kristina Anderson
EasyRead Copywriting, LLC
PO Box 6146
Albuquerque, NM 87197
505-345-3258
Fax: 1-866-345-0827
kristina at easyreadcopywriting.com



On Oct 15, 2007, at 11:12 AM, Steinbacher Mikal wrote:


> Nancy, it sounds like the average deaf person would also benefit  

> greatly from easily read heath care/disease prevention information,  

> just as ESL students would.  I have to admit that I did not know  

> that statistic, or the that English is a second language to the  

> deaf as well!

>

> Thanks for the information!

>

> Mikal Steinbacher

> Instructor, ABE/ESL/English

> Lake Washington Technical College

>

> ________________________________

>

> From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Nancy Meyers

> Sent: Mon 10/15/2007 9:29 AM

> To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov

> Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1343] Deaf population

>

>

> I work in the areas of health education and health advocacy in the  

> Deaf Community in Minnesota. I work with two Projects: Deaf Hospice  

> Education and Volunteer Project, now in its 8th year and the Deaf  

> Community Health Worker Project now in its 2nd year. Both projects  

> are community-based --or all Deaf (I am hearing but bilingual). We  

> have 10 Deaf people who are trained hospice volunteers/advocates.  

> The Deaf Community Health Worker is the first Deaf person to serve  

> in that role. This should give you some idea of how far behind this  

> population is in terms of health knowledge. Conversations about  

> health literacy usually do not include the Deaf Community, so I  

> hope I can add a new dimension. For starters, most hearing people  

> do not know that there is NO connection between American Sign  

> Language and the English language. "American" refers to the  

> language used by Deaf people in North America. English words mean  

> nothing unless there is some past experience a Deaf person can  

> "hook" the word too. English is their 2nd language and the average  

> reading level remains at the 4th grade level.

>

> Though generally recognized as a cultural/linguistic minority, this  

> population does not fit into the racial/ethnic classification used  

> for funding and research (though Harlan Lane argues that the  

> cultural anthropological definition does fit). There is no national  

> nor state health data base, ASL is not included in the US Census.   

> Community Health Workers are the "brightest light in the tunnel"  

> for this population...plus increased awareness on the part of  

> health professionals and people in the field of health literacy.

> The Deaf Community Health Worker has added volumes to our overall  

> understanding of the background knowledge that is missing within  

> the general population.  In Minnesota, the Community Health Worker  

> movement is growing fast. The potential for learning from people in  

> this field should be tapped--for all linguistic minorities. Two  

> articles that come out of our work in the hospice field might  

> provide more insights into some of the challenges faced when  

> working with this population in the health care setting.

>

> I look forward to being part of this panel and finding resources  

> that can be adapted for the Deaf Community.

>

>

>

>   1.     Barbara Allen , Nancy Meyers, John L. Sullivan, and  

> Melissa Sullivan, Disability and Health:   Best Practices in  

> Conducting Disability Surveys Volume 2, 2005, Chapter 5, "Using  

> American Sign Language in Assessing the End-of-Life-Care  

> Educational Needs of Deaf Persons: Lessons on Language, Culture,  

> and Research Practices," Nova Science Publishers in Hauppauge, New  

> York

>

>

>

>   2.     Barbara Allen , Nancy Meyers, John L. Sullivan, and  

> Melissa Sullivan, "Sign Language and End-of-Life

>

>    Care: Research in the Deaf Community," Healthcare Ethics  

> Committee Forum: An Interprofessional

>

>    Journal of HealthCare Institutions' Ethical and Legal Issues."   

> 14:3 (September) 2002. 197-208

>

> <winmail.dat>

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