Emergency Preparedness with People Who Sign: Toward the whole community approach

Abstract

The concept of the "whole community" involves including everyone in the community in preparing for emergencies, including members of often-overlooked groups. Deaf people who sign are one example of this type of group. An innovative model based on the whole community approach, Emergency Preparedness with People Who Sign (EPPS), is introduced in this article. This model focuses on members of the deaf community directly training first responders using a variety of techniques for effective communication and cultural understanding to achieve safety for all. This model was developed and field tested by a university Deaf Studies program through student service-learning activities and faculty involvement including on-site role-playing. Through the reciprocal awareness training for both professionals and community members, deaf individuals become actively empowered to participate in developing culturally and linguistically sensitive public safety services. Response to the concurrent training of first responders and deaf community members has been positive, and it is hoped that this model can be replicated with deaf people and first responders in other locations, as well as with other often-overlooked groups.

Bridging the Gap, How Interprofessional Collaboration Can Support Family-Centered Emergency Preparedness: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

“…This is consistent with the "whole community" approach to emergency preparedness, the existing literature about the role of these professionals in emergency preparedness, and the need for interconnectedness between their elds. [24][25][26] Building on growing awareness of emergency preparedness and increased connection between providers and public safety, education and training could take place across these groups, for providers about how to discuss emergency preparedness with their clients, and for public safety professionals about interacting with and the emergency preparedness needs of children with disabilities and chronically health conditions and their families. Finally, interviews with providers, public safety professionals, and advocacy organization leaders highlighted how institutional support of family-centered emergency preparedness is necessary to provide the time, resources, and framework for interprofessional collaborative emergency preparedness discussions.…”

“…24 Speci cally, the whole community approach means understanding the needs of oftenoverlooked community members such as children with disabilities and their families, as well as considering all community members' strengths in terms of how they can help build community resilience to emergencies. 25,26 The whole community approach also advocates for formal networking, including collaboration between government agencies, members of non-pro t organizations, health care providers, public safety, and other relevant professionals. 24 Previous studies have examined the role of occupational therapists, 27 social workers 28 nurses, 29,30 public health and safety professionals, 12,31 and non-pro t advocacy groups 24,32 in emergency preparedness.…”

A Scoping Review of Deaf Awareness Programs in Health Professional Education

“…Deaf and hard of hearing populations also have poorer health literacy [11] due to limited learning opportunities and inaccessible health-related materials. Many diverse groups are disadvantaged because of assumptions around health literacy that may relate to English not being a first language, ability to read and write, which in turn impacts on a person’s ability to understand healthcare and pharmacy directions and information [12]. Knowledge of Signed language or the use of telecommunication equipment, such as Sign language relay services is not prevalent in health providers [13].…”

Sensitivity to Deaf Culture Among Otolaryngology and Audiology Trainees

“…Cultural humility of the Deaf has also been assessed among internists, 25,26 genetic counselors, 27 other samples of medical students, 28,29 and other professions, such as police officers. [30][31][32] However, these have yet to be assessed among those most directly involved in hearing care-otolaryngologists and audiologists.…”