🚨 This is what inaccessibility looks like during a pandemic for deaf people.
Through our focus groups, many participants shared similar experiences and identified the following themes addressing accessibility and trust:
1️. A centralized, accessible hub;
2. Unbiased and transparent information;
3. Cultural and linguistic appropriateness; and
4. A right to advocacy and bridging gaps with public officials.
We recently received grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Health to investigate and improve access to resources and knowledge on COVID-19 and vaccination for our deaf communities. Read the full report here.
Stay Informed in ASL: We’ve got you covered! Sign up with your email at deafhealthaccess.org/sign-up or follow us on social media for new and current health updates.
Video Description:
The post has a video thumbnail with blue shading overlaid. The middle has a text bubble that reads “The stark reality of a pandemic” in white text with rose background. In the video: A woman with long blonde hair is sitting in front of the camera and she is wearing a black shirt and pink lipstick.
Transcript:
This is what inaccessibility looks like in a pandemic for deaf people: Confusing varied sources of information. Few, qualified trustworthy sources. Lack of cultural & linguistic appropriate information in ASL. Difficulty in bridging gaps. These experiences were unfortunately extremely common. We recently received a grant from the State of Minnesota to investigate and improve access with services and knowledge related toCOVID-19 and vaccination for our deaf communities. When we hosted focus groups to gather your experiences and perspectives, there was unanimous agreement on having had similar experiences. It is critical for us to document these findings and share with state and federal government, policy makers, and decision makers so they can better understand our experiences and needs and how we can improve the healthcare system. We are ready to lead that change. [The screen fades to show a thumbnail of a faded white background of a doctor holding hands with another individual] Deaf. Healthy. DeafHealth. Learn more at www.deafhealthaccess.org.].]