Results from Two Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Health Education Interventions for Deaf Adults

Background: More than half of deaf persons in the U.S. communicate primarily via American Sign Language (ASL). Most deaf persons who prefer to communicate in ASL are not bilingual and hence not fluent in English. Therefore, they face major barriers in accessing health care, obtaining and comprehending health information, and in communicating with physicians. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of two educational interventions for Deaf adults in improving health knowledge, self-efficacy, and health behaviors. Methods: Deaf adults were recruited into an eight-week class series on depression self-management or cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention based upon intervention-specific eligibility criteria. Classes were delivered in ASL by Deaf health educators. A pretest-posttest design was implemented to evaluate changes in participants' knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors over time. Sustained improvements 3-months post-intervention were also assessed. Results: 148 people completed the CVD intervention and 50 completed the Depression intervention. Preliminary findings suggest that both interventions were effective. For example, at Week 1 only 54% of CVD participants knew that smoking cessation can reduce the risk for both heart attack and stroke, whereas by Week 8, 85% knew this fact. Among Depression participants, the median severity of depression symptoms, as measured by Beck Depression Inventory II, decreased significantly from Week 1 to Week 8. Additional outcomes were assessed and final findings will be presented. Conclusion: Classes in ASL for Deaf adults provide an effective linguistic and culturally appropriate means to improve health knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors within this community.