INTRODUCTIONEffective and meaningful communication, verbal and non-verbal, is of foremost importance in any interaction between deaf and hearing people. When communication is not meaningful to both parties interaction is effectively curtailed. 1 The deaf or hard of hearing comprise one in seven of the population 2 with 46.9% of people over 60 years old, and 93.2% of those over 81 years old, having hearing difficulties. 3 As the use of healthcare services increases with age, those with hearing loss, often undiagnosed 4 constitute a large client group for radiographers.There is a dearth of literature that deals specifically with deaf patients in an imaging department. However the experiences of deaf patients in the imaging department may be similar to those SummaryBackground: Approximately one in seven of the British population has some degree of hearing loss. Studies have found that the deaf or hard of hearing often find communication in a health setting unsatisfactory. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of deaf people in the diagnostic imaging department.Methods: A semi-structured interview technique was used with small numbers of radiographers and deaf patients. Transcripts were analysed using thematic content analysis.Results: Deaf patients experienced difficulties at reception and with the system for calling patients. Examinations that required the patient to follow verbal instructions caused communication problems for both patients and radiographers. A high proportion of the deaf subjects had had an MRI scan, and nearly all of them found this a distressing experience. Radiographers had some awareness of communicating with the deaf, although nearly all significantly overestimated the percentage of words understood by patients who lip-read.Conclusion: Patients experienced problems with communication. In some cases these were such that informed consent may not have been given. Recommendations made for future practice include deaf awareness training for all staff, the installation of equipment that gives visual signals for breath holding, and extra time allowed for explanation to deaf patients before imaging procedures.
An X-ray request is an essential vehicle for communicating clinical information from the referring clinician to the radiographer, responsible for undertaking the procedure, who requires sufficient information to justify an exposure. Abbreviations and illegible handwriting can reduce this expected level of communication.Abbreviations were included on 81% of the request forms audited in this study and 9% of request forms were considered to be illegible. Radiographers have a high acceptance level of abbreviations compared to illegible handwriting. This study demonstrated that abbreviations could have more than one meaning to individual radiographers. Thus radiographers could waste valuable clinical time locating the referring clinician to clarify the implied meaning. The incorrect interpretation of the meaning of an abbreviation could lead to an erroneous examination being undertaken with subsequent medico-legal implications.The X-ray request -an effective vehicle of communication?
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