- Hearing loss can be a significant barrier to effective communication between patients and their healthcare providers, and patients with impaired hearing are at risk for missing important information regarding their own health.
- In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the authors evaluated published evidence on modes of communication between healthcare professionals and patients with hearing loss.
- The authors searched relevant databases (e.g., MEDLINE/PubMed) for studies that addressed the prevalence of different modes of communication between patients with hearing loss and their healthcare providers.
- Forty-two studies were included in the systematic review and 20 studies were included in the meta-analysis. These studies included patients identified as deaf, with hearing loss, hard of hearing, or members of the Deaf community.
- The use of hand gestures (often accompanied by verbal communication or writing) was reported in 54.8% of pooled interactions. While this mode of communication was often selected because for convenience (and thus preferred by healthcare providers), in general patients did not prefer this mode of communication.
- 5% of reported interactions relied upon using an accompanying person or family member to facilitate communication between the hearing-impaired patient and healthcare provider.
- Only 8.4% of reported interactions used a qualified sign language medical interpreter, despite this being recognized as the most effective mode of communication between healthcare providers and patients with impaired hearing.
- Technologies to assist communication were frequently used, with hearing aids (57.4%) being most common. Other assistive technologies included cochlear implants, speech-to-text apps on smartphones, and video remote sign language interpretation services.
- Important barriers to effective communication included: lack of availability of sign language interpretation, language differences (including different forms of sign language used in various countries), and frequent misunderstandings when relying on lipreading and/or writing. In addition, the authors noted that in some patients with hearing loss, education level, health knowledge, and written language literacy may also be barriers to effective communication.
- The authors recommend improving communication between patients with hearing loss and healthcare providers by expanding access to qualified interpreters and sign language assistive technology.
Summary of "Communication between healthcare professionals and patients with hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis"
Summary published March 12, 2025
