Start Date
5-15-2025 9:30 AM
End Date
5-15-2025 11:30 AM
Description
Background
Auditory-dependent healthcare environments present persistent barriers to patients who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH), particularly where verbal instructions and auditory notifications dominate communication workflows. This contributes to delayed access to care, decreased satisfaction and strained patient provider-relationships, and significantly higher hospitalization rates —16-21% for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss, respectively. Additionally, these patients experience higher rates of chronic conditions, lower health literacy, and reduced healthcare satisfaction. Existing interventions are often fragmented and narrowly focused, failing to capture the heterogeneity of d/DHH patients’ needs. This project introduces a scalable, continuous solution grounded in inclusive design principles to address variability in hearing loss severity, technological proficiency, and cognitive processing. It aims to embed accessibility as an integrated design standard within clinical operations.
Keywords
deaf patients, hard of hearing patients, digital health technology, primary care
Enhancing Primary Care Navigation for d/Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patients: A Wayfinding Intervention Proposal
Background
Auditory-dependent healthcare environments present persistent barriers to patients who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH), particularly where verbal instructions and auditory notifications dominate communication workflows. This contributes to delayed access to care, decreased satisfaction and strained patient provider-relationships, and significantly higher hospitalization rates —16-21% for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss, respectively. Additionally, these patients experience higher rates of chronic conditions, lower health literacy, and reduced healthcare satisfaction. Existing interventions are often fragmented and narrowly focused, failing to capture the heterogeneity of d/DHH patients’ needs. This project introduces a scalable, continuous solution grounded in inclusive design principles to address variability in hearing loss severity, technological proficiency, and cognitive processing. It aims to embed accessibility as an integrated design standard within clinical operations.
Comments
Presented at the 2025 Jefferson Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit.