Awareness of the right to Argentine Sign Language interpretation services among pediatricians practicing in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

Abstract

Introduction. Barriers in communication between physicians and Deaf or hard of hearing people may be risk factors for health. The services of a professional Argentine Sign Language interpreter (PASLI), by virtue of Act No. 26378, may mitigate this. Objective. To estimate the proportion of pediatricians who have knowledge of Act No. 26378 and whether this is associated with the recommendation of a PASLI. Population and methods. Cross-sectional study with a selfadministered electronic questionnaire among pediatricians members of the Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría who practiced in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA). Results. A total of 381 surveys were assessed. Of these, 15.1 % knew the Act, and this was associated with the recommendation of a PASLI (OR: 3.7; 95 % CI: 1.1-12.9; p < 0.05). Conclusions. The proportion of pediatricians working in CABA who knew the Act was 15.1 %. This was significantly associated with the recommendation of a PASLI.