Healthcare professionals with deaf patients: Guidance & case studies

Clear communication is one of the most important tools in diagnosing health problems or explaining how to treat them. In other words, poor communication is a risk to patients’ health. Meanwhile, healthcare professionals who don’t know how to communicate with deaf and hard of hearing patients will have more difficulty meeting their health needs.

This handbook guides healthcare professionals in working with deaf patients, or with deafblind patients. In particular, it focuses on language, communication, and culture. Furthermore, it provides case studies of situations where health professionals worked with deaf or hard of hearing patients.

Author Anna Middleton published this handbook via Cambridge University Press in 2009. Because it is old, it may miss information about more modern technologies for helping communication. However, some of the guidance may be still relevant in any country and any era.

The book is not available for free. Users can ask their library to buy it, or can buy it themselves from booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Abe Books, or elsewhere.

For people who have print disabilities (for example, blind people), you can try looking for this book in an accessible format via an online service like Bookshare. Or, if you use a library service for people with print disabilities that participates in the ABC Global Book Service, you may wish to inquire whether this book is available.

Also explore other resources on deafness for healthcare professionals.