BALTIMORE — Diabetes care and education professionals need to provide more resources and services in American Sign Language to optimize education for deaf people with diabetes, according to two speakers I have.

In a presentation at the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists Annual Conference, Murdoch Henderson, PsyD, MS, MAClinical psychologist and researcher at the University of Utah School of Nursing, Dr. Michelle L. Richman, FNP-BC, FAANP, FADCES, FAANA nurse practitioner and assistant professor at the University of Utah School of Nursing discussed findings from a community advisory panel of 10 deaf and hard of hearing people with diabetes. The panel identified several barriers, most of which related to lack of access to diabetes treatment resources in American Sign Language (ASL).

“Using a community engagement approach, we identified several structural barriers that must be addressed to optimize diabetes self-management education and support,” said Litchman. said to Helio. “Two major barriers include the need for an American Sign Language glossary to update, clarify, and create diabetes terminology, and a diabetes-specific dictionary for American Sign Language interpreters to enhance communication during medical appointments. It includes establishing training.”

Information gap among diabetic deaf people

In the United States, the deaf and hard of hearing diabetes rate is 2.5 times higher than the general population. Henderson said the differences in diabetes rates could be due to inconsistencies in health information caused by several factors. It’s “dining table syndrome” where you can’t communicate. Henderson noted that people experiencing dinner table syndrome have higher rates of chronic illness compared to the general population.

“Families of deaf people are typically left out of the conversation from birth,” Henderson said via an ASL interpreter during the presentation. “This usually has language complications and language deprivation issues.”

Another factor is the lack of sign language interpreters trained to treat deaf and hard of hearing patients. Only about 50% of medical appointments for the deaf and hard of hearing include a sign language interpreter, and of those who do, only about 50% are trained to translate medical terms. Only one third.

Michelle L. Richman

“American Sign Language interpreters may not be effectively translating medical information during diabetes self-management or educational professional visits,” Litchman told Healio. This is because the signs of diabetes terms can vary nationally and there are some diabetes terms that do not yet have signs to support them.This is because not all interpreters are certified. One complication is that many American Sign Language interpreters have no medical training.”

Providers also make the mistake of assuming that deaf and hard of hearing people can read handouts written in English. Finally, Henderson noted the limited diabetes education resources available for his ASL online. He searched YouTube for ASL diabetes education videos and found 20. Most of them were posted by ASL students as part of their class assignments.

Barriers for the Diabetic Deaf, Facilitator

To better understand the barriers faced by people with diabetes, researchers created a 10-person community advisory board made up of representatives from across the United States. Each meeting concluded with a debriefing in which the research team discussed thematically grouped highlights.

“We base our research on these community resources,” Henderson said. “We have some research going on. What we are doing now is using the Community Advisory Board as a grassroots space.”

Board members elaborated on three major barriers during the meeting. Most diabetes education content for the general population could not be delivered to the deaf or hard of hearing. Concerns about the reliability of online information.

Board members cited several ways to help diabetes care and education professionals create programs tailored for the deaf and hard of hearing. He said visual representations such as could help confirm lessons during educational sessions. They also expressed a desire to learn from people who understand their culture.

“A lot of cultural groups want to learn from someone in that group,” Richman said in his presentation. “What this means for us is that the deaf community with diabetes needs to find her health her workers. .”

Board members requested that diabetes education be divided into multiple sessions, exploring new concepts each week rather than covering multiple topics in one long session. The member also asked for a supportive care partner specifically trained in diabetes terminology and her ASL interpreter to be involved in the education. A final idea put forth by a board member is her ASL deaf website with diabetes resources.

“It has been identified that there are several structural barriers that must be addressed in order to optimize diabetes self-management education and support for deaf and hard of hearing people with diabetes.” Richman said in a presentation. “With diabetes self-management education and top support, we need to support the Foundation with the American Sign Language Glossary. I know where you are Now you need this Diabetes Training for American Sign Language Interpreters Once you have them in place, you will be able to provide diabetes self-management education and support more effectively. increase.”

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Association of Diabetes Care and Education Professionals