Aotearoa New Zealand Deaf women's perspectives on breast and cervical cancer screening.

AIMS: Since the introduction of both cervical and breast screening programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand, mortality rates have dropped. Both screening programmes track women's engagement, but neither capture the level of engagement of Deaf women who are New Zealand Sign Language users or their experiences in these screening programmes. Our paper addresses this knowledge deficit and provides insights that will benefit health practitioners when providing screening services to Deaf women. METHODS: We used qualitative interpretive descriptive methodology to investigate the experiences of Deaf women who are New Zealand Sign Language users. A total of 18 self-identified Deaf women were recruited to the study through advertisements in key Auckland Deaf organisations. The focus group interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. The data was then analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Our analysis indicated that a woman's first screening experience may be made more comfortable when staff are Deaf aware and a New Zealand Sign Language interpreter is used. Our findings also showed that when an interpreter is present, extra time is required for effective communication, and that the woman's privacy needs to be ensured. CONCLUSION: This paper provides insights, as well as some communication guidelines and strategies, which may be useful to health providers when engaging with Deaf women who use New Zealand Sign Language to communicate. The use of New Zealand Sign Language interpreters in health settings is regarded as best practice, however their presence needs to be negotiated with each woman.

Attitudes of rural communities towards the use of technology for health purposes in New Zealand: a focus group study.

OBJECTIVES: Examine attitudes to using online health and wellness services, and determine what barriers may exist to this in two rural communities in New Zealand. DESIGN: A thematic analysis informed by a social constructivist paradigm explored the attitudes of youth and adults to give voice to these communities. Eighteen focus groups-nine in each region-were held for an hour each, with between three and nine participants in each group. SETTING: Two rural areas at the Northern and Southern ends of New Zealand were chosen. In each area, we partnered with a local health centre providing primary care services. Three localities were identified within each region where we conducted the data collection. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were youth aged 12-15 years, aged 16-20 years and adults over 21 years. Overall, 74 females and 40 males were recruited. Recruitment occurred through schools, community organisations or personal contacts of the facilitators, who were youth workers in their respective communities. Ethnicity of the participants was representative of each area, with a higher percentage of Maori participants in Northland. RESULTS: Eight themes were identified which described participants' attitudes to technology use in healthcare. Themes covered accessibility, cost, independence, anonymity and awareness issues: technology makes health information easily accessible; access to technology can be limited in rural communities; technology can reduce the cost of healthcare but it is too expensive for some; technology increases independence and autonomy of people's own health; independent healthcare decisions come with risks; anonymity encourages people to seek help online; technology can help raise awareness and provide peer-support for people with health issues; technology impacts on social relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Participants-particularly youth-were generally positive about the role of technology in healthcare delivery, and interested in ways technology could improve autonomy and access to health and wellness services.