Terry Daniel R, Lê Quynh, Nguyen Hoang Boi
Department of Rural Health, The University of Melbourne, P.O. Box 6500, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.
Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
Disabil Health J. 2016 Apr;9(2):281-8. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2015.11.002. Epub 2015 Dec 2.
Those within the Deaf community are disadvantaged in a number of aspects of day-to-day life including their access to health care. At times, they may encounter barriers to health care even before they reach the consultation room. As a consequence, they may receive insufficient and inappropriate health care which may lead to poorer health outcomes.
A study was conducted to explore health awareness and access to health information and services of Deaf people living in Tasmania, Australia and identify ways of enhancing the interaction between the Deaf and the wider community.
A questionnaire was administered, including a number of demographic, health awareness and health service usage questions. In addition, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with service providers and the Deaf community between March and August 2014. An interpreter was present to translate the questions into Auslan and who then translated the Deaf participant's discussion into English for the researcher. Data were then analyzed using research software SPSS v20.0 and NVivo 10.0.
Health as a concept was poorly understood, including mental health, sexual health and health concerning alcohol and drug abuse. Regarding health care resources, due to a sense of security, trust and confidence, the family physician or general practitioner was the single most important health care provider among the Deaf.
The Deaf remain underserved by the current health care system; however, through resourcefulness and life experiences, the Deaf have developed coping and management strategies to move forward with dignity in education, meaningful employment and health access.
聋人社群在日常生活的诸多方面都处于不利地位，包括获得医疗保健服务。有时，他们甚至在进入诊疗室之前就可能遇到医疗保健方面的障碍。因此，他们可能获得不足且不适当的医疗保健，这可能导致更差的健康结果。
开展一项研究，以探索澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州聋人的健康意识以及获取健康信息和服务的情况，并确定增强聋人与更广泛社区之间互动的方法。
发放了一份问卷，其中包括一些人口统计学、健康意识和医疗服务使用方面的问题。此外，在2014年3月至8月期间，对服务提供者和聋人社群进行了半结构化访谈和焦点小组讨论。有一名口译员在场，将问题翻译成澳大利亚手语，然后再将聋人参与者的讨论翻译成英语供研究人员使用。然后使用研究软件SPSS v20.0和NVivo 10.0对数据进行分析。
人们对健康这一概念理解不佳，包括心理健康、性健康以及与酒精和药物滥用有关的健康问题。在医疗保健资源方面，由于安全感、信任和信心，家庭医生或全科医生是聋人中最重要的单一医疗保健提供者。
聋人在当前医疗保健系统中仍然未得到充分服务；然而，通过足智多谋和生活经历，聋人已经制定了应对和管理策略，以便在教育、有意义的就业和获得医疗保健方面有尊严地前行。
