Wong Hayley, Sheehan Jane, Sung Valerie, Best Stephanie, Leigh Greg
NextSense Institute, Sydney, Australia.
Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2025 Jun 20;30(3):347-358. doi: 10.1093/jdsade/enaf002.
This study investigated service providers' perspectives on the barriers experienced by families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds along the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) pathway in Victoria, Australia. Twelve service providers (i.e., hearing screening program staff and diagnostic audiologists) participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Service providers identified differences in service delivery, communication, and support needs between families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those from majority cultural and linguistic (predominantly English-speaking) backgrounds. Perceived barriers included communication difficulties, lack of access to interpreters and translated written resources, cultural factors, and practical barriers to attending appointments. Clarifying the roles of service providers, providing access to resources to support communication, and requiring service providers to participate in cultural responsiveness training are suggested as strategies to improve services for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Findings from this study inform service provision throughout the EHDI pathway to improve care for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
本研究调查了澳大利亚维多利亚州早期听力检测与干预（EHDI）流程中，服务提供者对来自文化和语言背景多样家庭所面临障碍的看法。十二名服务提供者（即听力筛查项目工作人员和诊断听力学家）参与了半结构化访谈。采用归纳式内容分析法对数据进行分析。服务提供者指出，来自文化和语言背景多样的家庭与来自主流文化和语言（主要是英语）背景的家庭在服务提供、沟通和支持需求方面存在差异。感知到的障碍包括沟通困难、难以获得口译服务和翻译的书面资源、文化因素以及就诊的实际障碍。建议明确服务提供者的角色、提供支持沟通的资源以及要求服务提供者参与文化响应培训，以此作为改善为文化和语言背景多样家庭提供服务的策略。本研究结果为EHDI流程中的服务提供提供了参考，以改善对文化和语言背景多样家庭的护理。
