External Communication Barriers among Elderly Deaf and Hard of Hearing People in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Isolation: A Qualitative Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 18(21)2021 11 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1502420
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great risk to older people with hearing impairment, who face a higher threshold of external communication after the implementation of the emergency isolation policy. As part of a study on the optimization of external communication among the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population in central China, this study employed a qualitative research method based on in-depth interviews to explore the needs and difficulties faced by the older DHH group in external communication during public health emergencies in Wuhan, China, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that older DHH people had weak reception of critical information about the epidemic, and had suboptimal access to medical care during emergency quarantine, which increased interpersonal communication barriers to this group. The current findings highlight the urgent need for targeted strengthening of the original emergency communication and coordination mechanisms in public health emergencies, and for improving policy inclusiveness for older DHH individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic and emergencies alike.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Persons With Hearing Impairments
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph182111519
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS