Deaf people shut out of vital public health briefings 

Deaf people were shut out of vital public health information during the COVID-19 pandemic, hitting physical and mental health, new research shows.

An international study found that potentially thousands of deaf and hard of hearing people could not access essential disease prevention information during the global crisis.

The research, published in PLOSOne, is the first to examine, at scale, how reading skill, access to sign language, and the timing of hearing loss affect people’s ability to obtain vital public health information.

'Urgent improvements'

Led by University of Essex scientist Dr Eva Gutierrez-Sigut, the study surveyed 395 deaf and hard of hearing adults in the UK and Spain shortly after the pandemic began.

The Department of Psychology researcher found satisfaction rates of just 26% for televised government updates, 34% for written government information, and 35% for newspapers.

Dr Gutierrez-Sigut has called for urgent improvements in public health messaging, urging officials to provide more signed information across official broadcasts, produce written materials at accessible reading levels, invest in literacy programmes for deaf communities, and better recognise the linguistic needs of adults who lose their hearing later in life.

'Preventable barriers'

Dr Eva Gutierrez-Sigut said: “These findings highlight a broader societal issue that goes far beyond the pandemic.

“Deaf communities still face routine, preventable barriers when trying to access essential information.

“Equitable access to health information is a matter of public health, not preference.”

The impact was greatest among deaf people with poorer reading comprehension, who reported reduced access to information and worse physical and mental health outcomes.

Adults who became deaf later in life and did not use sign language were particularly affected.

College-level

This group relied heavily on written information at a time when public health materials were often produced at college-level reading comprehension.

Signed information made a significant difference but was rarely available.

While most deaf people depended on subtitles for government updates and news coverage, they strongly preferred signed information when it was available, such as updates produced by deaf organisations, which were often rated as more accessible than official government sources.

Satisfaction with information from deaf organisations was the highest of all sources, at 46%.

Health outcomes were shaped by reading skill, knowledge of sign language, onset and level of deafness, and country of residence, with lower reading skill, lack of signing access, and later-onset deafness consistently linked to poorer physical and mental health.