Internet-based streaming videos: Innovative health information tools for low literacy adults

Within the population of adults with limited English proficiency is a subgroup of people who also have low literacy skills in their own native language. For a small number of adults with limited English proficiency, their native language has no written component. People experiencing either of these situations face significant barriers when attempting to access printed health care information in any language. Many Deaf Americans fit into the second category. Because of difficulties growing up in a hearing/oral world, the average Deaf high school senior reads English at a fourth grade level. Additionally, his or her native language, American Sign Language (ASL), is a visual-manual language without a written component. A Deaf person whose primary language is ASL, therefore, requires face-to-face encounters to communicate and learn. This presentation will describe the steps towards developing internet-based, streaming videos in ASL that offer Deaf persons the opportunity to complete interactive health screenings for depression, anxiety, risk of heart attack, risk of getting HIV (or other sexually transmitted diseases) and readiness to stop smoking. The development and implementation of these interactive screening tools involved Deaf community participation and included a usability study. Although this example focuses on a Deaf population, the process could be applied to any population with low literacy skills.