Telehealth and the Deaf: A Comparison Study

Abstract

Within the deaf population, an extreme mental health professional shortage exists that may be alleviated with videoconferencing technology-also known as telehealth. Moreover, much needed mental health education within the deaf population remains largely inaccessible. Researchers have warned that the deaf population may remain underserved if significant changes do not take place with traditional service delivery methods. This article evaluated the efficacy of telehealth in teaching psychoeducational objectives, with special emphasis given to its application to the deaf population. Results indicate that telehealth can be regarded as an efficacious and cost-effective option in delivering health care to the deaf population. Participants also indicated satisfaction with the telehealth technology. The use of printed transcripts for educational purposes is encouraged given the significant findings in this article. The findings also have implications for the literature on single-session interventions.

Managing Patient Factors in the Assessment of Swallowing via Telerehabilitation

“…Although the presence of a hearing impairment does not prohibit individuals from participating in telehealth services [9–12], in the current study the ability to manipulate the audio and visual signal was necessary to assist interactions online. Furthermore, the system allowed for clear vision of the online clinician, which helped the individuals with a hearing impairment gather information that was missed and interpret information provided through facial cues and gestures.…”

Estudos em saúde auditiva envolvendo educação à distância e presencial

“…26 . Utilizar língua de sinais em sala de aula aumenta a competência de leitura de forma significativa 25 . Ainda no aspecto capacitação, alguns autores capacitaram 2 grupos de agentes comunitários, um de modo presencial e outro à distância, verificando que os dois grupos apresentaram diferença significativa, embora o grupo que recebeu capacitação presencial tenha apresentado melhor desempenho 27 .…”

“…Com relação às propostas de estudo, estas foram variadas com enfoque na comparação de conteúdo 26 na verificação da eficácia 25 , na discussão de métodos 21 e, por fim nas recomendações 23 .…”

Provision of mental health care services to deaf individuals using telehealth.

“…For example, signed communication naturally requires that the hands and other nonverbal cues be read for comprehension to occur. Moreover, Wilson and Wells (2009) found that even if minor disruptions in the video quality occur, ASL is capable of overcoming the glitches in its conversational flow.…”

“…The use of telehealth technology has been hailed as a possible means of alleviating the barriers to mental health care access faced by Deaf individuals (Wilson & Wells, 2009). For the purposes of the current article, telehealth is defined as the use of live video conferencing technology to support mental health care at a dis tance.…”