Department of Internal Medicine, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity St, Bldg B, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2022 May 6;22(1):345. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03403-w.
Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people are an underserved population and underrepresented among healthcare professionals. A major barrier to success for DHH healthcare professionals is obtaining effective accommodations during education and employment. Our objective: describe DHH individuals' experiences with accommodations in healthcare education.
We used an online survey and multipronged snowball sampling to recruit participants who identify as DHH and who had applied to a U.S. health professional school (regardless of acceptance status). One hundred forty-eight individuals representing multiple professions responded; 51 had completed their training. Over 80% had been accepted to, were currently enrolled, or had completed health professions schools or residency programs, and/or were employed. The survey included questions addressing experiences applying to health professions programs and employment; satisfaction with accommodations in school and training; having worked with a disability resource professional (DRP); and depression screening.
Use and type of accommodation varied widely. While in school, respondents reported spending a mean of 2.1 h weekly managing their accommodations. Only 50% were highly satisfied with the accommodations provided by their programs. Use of disability resource providers (DRPs) for accommodations was highest during school (56%) and less frequent during post-graduate training (20%) and employment (14%). Respondents who transitioned directly from school to employment (versus via additional training) were more satisfied with their accommodations during school and were more likely to find employment (p = 0.02). Seventeen respondents screened positive for risk of depression; a positive screen was statistically associated with lower school accommodation satisfaction.
DHH people study and practice across many health professions. While respondents were mostly successful in entering health professions programs, accommodation experiences and satisfaction varied. Satisfaction with accommodations was related to successful employment and wellness. Low satisfaction was associated with higher likelihood of depression symptoms. To increase representation in the workforce, healthcare professional schools, training programs, and employers should enhance support for the learning and working climates for people with disabilities.
聋人和重听人士（DHH）是服务不足的人群，在医疗保健专业人员中代表性不足。DHH 医疗保健专业人员成功的一个主要障碍是在教育和就业期间获得有效的住宿。我们的目标：描述 DHH 个人在医疗保健教育中获得住宿的经验。
我们使用在线调查和多管齐下的滚雪球抽样来招募自称为 DHH 并已申请美国健康专业学校（无论是否被录取）的参与者。有 148 人代表多个专业做出了回应；其中 51 人已完成培训。超过 80%的人已被健康专业学校或居住计划录取、正在入学或已完成，并且/或者已就业。该调查包括有关申请健康专业课程和就业的经验、对学校和培训中住宿的满意度、与残疾资源专业人员（DRP）合作以及抑郁筛查的问题。
住宿的使用和类型差异很大。在校期间，受访者报告每周平均花费 2.1 小时来管理住宿。只有 50%的人对他们的课程提供的住宿条件非常满意。在学校（56%）期间，对残疾资源提供者（DRP）的使用频率最高，而在研究生培训（20%）和就业（14%）期间则较低。与通过额外培训相比，直接从学校过渡到就业的受访者对学校期间的住宿更满意，并且更有可能找到工作（p=0.02）。有 17 名受访者的抑郁风险筛查呈阳性；阳性筛查与学校住宿满意度降低呈统计学相关。
DHH 人群在许多健康专业领域学习和实践。虽然受访者在进入健康专业课程方面大多取得了成功，但住宿经验和满意度存在差异。对住宿的满意度与成功就业和健康状况相关。满意度低与更高的抑郁症状发生率相关。为了增加劳动力中的代表性，医疗保健专业学校、培训计划和雇主应加强对残疾人士学习和工作环境的支持。
