Minority faculty and trainees experience unique factors that can hinder their success in academic... more Minority faculty and trainees experience unique factors that can hinder their success in academic medicine-collectively referred to as "minority tax." The authors argue that a similar "deaf tax" of unique barriers, experiences, and responsibilities disproportionately burdens deaf trainees and faculty. The cumulative effects of these deaf tax experiences represent a significant disadvantage for deaf professionals in academic medicine. Through a combination of relevant literature and the authors' personal experiences as deaf professionals, several causative domains of deaf tax are outlined, including the fight for reasonable accommodations, prejudice and discrimination, training and diversity barriers, and a lack of deaf mentorship. In addition, a number of practical steps are offered for institutional leaders to consider implementing to improve equity and inclusion in academic medicine, including facilitating language equity and communication access, implementing deaf awareness training, fostering effective deaf mentorship, and promoting deaf professionals in leadership positions. Addressing these issues would help remove the obstacles that create the high deaf tax burden and lower the near-insurmountable barrier of entry, advancement, and retention in academic medicine for deaf professionals.
BACKGROUND Disparities in COVID-19 information and vaccine access have emerged during the pandemi... more BACKGROUND Disparities in COVID-19 information and vaccine access have emerged during the pandemic. Individuals from historically excluded communities (e.g., Black and Latin Americans) experience disproportionately negative health outcomes related to COVID-19. Community gaps in COVID-19 education and social and health care services (including vaccines) should be prioritized as a critical effort to end the pandemic. Misinformation created by the politicization of COVID-19 and related public health measures has magnified the pandemic’s challenges, including access to healthcare, vaccination and testing efforts, and personal protective equipment. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have been demonstrated to reduce the gaps of marginalization in education and access among communities. Chatbots are an increasingly present example of ICTs, particularly in healthcare and in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE This project aimed to: (1) follow an inclusive and theoretica...
This work was posted as a Reader Comment in Pediatrics for the article, "Opportunities and S... more This work was posted as a Reader Comment in Pediatrics for the article, "Opportunities and Shared Decision-Making to Help Children Who Are Deaf to Communicate" Karl R. White, Louis Z. Cooper, Pediatrics Jun 2017, e20171287; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2017-1287.
This video provides basic guidelines for clinics, hospitals, and emergency providers for interact... more This video provides basic guidelines for clinics, hospitals, and emergency providers for interacting with culturally Deaf clients
ABSTRACTBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread public health measures to reduce tr... more ABSTRACTBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread public health measures to reduce transmission, morbidity, and mortality attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While much research and focus surrounds COVID-19 vaccine development, testing, and supportive management, little is known about the determinants of non-medical, personal impact of COVID-19 prevention policies. We aimed to understand determinants of non-medical COVID-19 impact and to account for its multileveled, intersectional nature of associations.MethodsThis cross-sectional, multi-level, convergent mixed-methods study assessed a range of beliefs, practices, and experiences relating to COVID-19. We recruited a global sample (n=7,411) using both Facebook and Amazon mTURK platforms. We constructed a novel data-driven non-medical COVID-19 Impact Score and four subcomponents (“Personal Action,” “Supply-related,” “Cancellations,” and “Livelihood” impacts). We used generalized estimating equation models with identity li...
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2019
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Qualitative approaches help explore poorly understood phenomenon, and a... more OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Qualitative approaches help explore poorly understood phenomenon, and are highly engaging, enabling both sides of an encounter greater connection. Historically, Deaf communities have been marginalized and oppressed, with their linguistic needs unrecognized and ignored. As a result, Deaf participants are rarely involved in clinical research. Like other marginalized communities, the Deaf community experiences health disparity compared with others, especially in low- and middle-income settings. The purpose of this project was to assess the feasibility of conducting qualitative research with Deaf Dominicans. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We implemented a partnered research process with 59 Deaf community members in the Dominican Republic, conducting preliminary thematic analysis through reviews of interviews and on-site debriefings. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Participants were highly engaged with the Deaf-Deaf research encounters, indicating satisfaction with both...
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2019
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Deaf communities in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) strugg... more OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Deaf communities in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) struggle to organize, advocate, and reach social and health equity in their nations. In the Dominican Republic (DR), the health and social status of Deaf citizens is unclear, which obfuscates action and advocacy based on data. A set of successful pre-existing US-DR partnerships that function well but were not previously connected, organized around submission of a community-based NIH research grant and pilot work to support it. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Adapting the Partnership Synergy Framework for this purpose, we evaluate the partnership, its evolution, and its experience in implementing formative research. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Our experience showed the local Deaf community organization easily recruited and interfaced with the Deaf community; presence of a trusted external organization facilitated entry of the PUCMM-UR research team; and stakeholders are enthusiastic about the partne...
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children need to master at least one language (spoken or signed) t... more Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children need to master at least one language (spoken or signed) to reach their full potential. Providing access to a natural sign language supports this goal. Despite evidence that natural sign languages are beneficial to DHH children, many researchers and practitioners advise families to focus exclusively on spoken language. We critique the Pediatrics article ‘Early Sign Language Exposure and Cochlear Implants’ (Geers et al., 2017) as an example of research that makes unsupported claims against the inclusion of natural sign languages. We refute claims that (1) there are harmful effects of sign language and (2) that listening and spoken language are necessary for optimal development of deaf children. While practical challenges remain (and are discussed) for providing a sign language-rich environment, research evidence suggests that such challenges are worth tackling in light of natural sign languages providing a host of benefits for DHH children – esp...
Minority faculty and trainees experience unique factors that can hinder their success in academic... more Minority faculty and trainees experience unique factors that can hinder their success in academic medicine-collectively referred to as "minority tax." The authors argue that a similar "deaf tax" of unique barriers, experiences, and responsibilities disproportionately burdens deaf trainees and faculty. The cumulative effects of these deaf tax experiences represent a significant disadvantage for deaf professionals in academic medicine. Through a combination of relevant literature and the authors' personal experiences as deaf professionals, several causative domains of deaf tax are outlined, including the fight for reasonable accommodations, prejudice and discrimination, training and diversity barriers, and a lack of deaf mentorship. In addition, a number of practical steps are offered for institutional leaders to consider implementing to improve equity and inclusion in academic medicine, including facilitating language equity and communication access, implementing deaf awareness training, fostering effective deaf mentorship, and promoting deaf professionals in leadership positions. Addressing these issues would help remove the obstacles that create the high deaf tax burden and lower the near-insurmountable barrier of entry, advancement, and retention in academic medicine for deaf professionals.
BACKGROUND Disparities in COVID-19 information and vaccine access have emerged during the pandemi... more BACKGROUND Disparities in COVID-19 information and vaccine access have emerged during the pandemic. Individuals from historically excluded communities (e.g., Black and Latin Americans) experience disproportionately negative health outcomes related to COVID-19. Community gaps in COVID-19 education and social and health care services (including vaccines) should be prioritized as a critical effort to end the pandemic. Misinformation created by the politicization of COVID-19 and related public health measures has magnified the pandemic’s challenges, including access to healthcare, vaccination and testing efforts, and personal protective equipment. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have been demonstrated to reduce the gaps of marginalization in education and access among communities. Chatbots are an increasingly present example of ICTs, particularly in healthcare and in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE This project aimed to: (1) follow an inclusive and theoretica...
This work was posted as a Reader Comment in Pediatrics for the article, "Opportunities and S... more This work was posted as a Reader Comment in Pediatrics for the article, "Opportunities and Shared Decision-Making to Help Children Who Are Deaf to Communicate" Karl R. White, Louis Z. Cooper, Pediatrics Jun 2017, e20171287; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2017-1287.
This video provides basic guidelines for clinics, hospitals, and emergency providers for interact... more This video provides basic guidelines for clinics, hospitals, and emergency providers for interacting with culturally Deaf clients
ABSTRACTBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread public health measures to reduce tr... more ABSTRACTBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread public health measures to reduce transmission, morbidity, and mortality attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While much research and focus surrounds COVID-19 vaccine development, testing, and supportive management, little is known about the determinants of non-medical, personal impact of COVID-19 prevention policies. We aimed to understand determinants of non-medical COVID-19 impact and to account for its multileveled, intersectional nature of associations.MethodsThis cross-sectional, multi-level, convergent mixed-methods study assessed a range of beliefs, practices, and experiences relating to COVID-19. We recruited a global sample (n=7,411) using both Facebook and Amazon mTURK platforms. We constructed a novel data-driven non-medical COVID-19 Impact Score and four subcomponents (“Personal Action,” “Supply-related,” “Cancellations,” and “Livelihood” impacts). We used generalized estimating equation models with identity li...
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2019
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Qualitative approaches help explore poorly understood phenomenon, and a... more OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Qualitative approaches help explore poorly understood phenomenon, and are highly engaging, enabling both sides of an encounter greater connection. Historically, Deaf communities have been marginalized and oppressed, with their linguistic needs unrecognized and ignored. As a result, Deaf participants are rarely involved in clinical research. Like other marginalized communities, the Deaf community experiences health disparity compared with others, especially in low- and middle-income settings. The purpose of this project was to assess the feasibility of conducting qualitative research with Deaf Dominicans. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We implemented a partnered research process with 59 Deaf community members in the Dominican Republic, conducting preliminary thematic analysis through reviews of interviews and on-site debriefings. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Participants were highly engaged with the Deaf-Deaf research encounters, indicating satisfaction with both...
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2019
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Deaf communities in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) strugg... more OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Deaf communities in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) struggle to organize, advocate, and reach social and health equity in their nations. In the Dominican Republic (DR), the health and social status of Deaf citizens is unclear, which obfuscates action and advocacy based on data. A set of successful pre-existing US-DR partnerships that function well but were not previously connected, organized around submission of a community-based NIH research grant and pilot work to support it. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Adapting the Partnership Synergy Framework for this purpose, we evaluate the partnership, its evolution, and its experience in implementing formative research. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Our experience showed the local Deaf community organization easily recruited and interfaced with the Deaf community; presence of a trusted external organization facilitated entry of the PUCMM-UR research team; and stakeholders are enthusiastic about the partne...
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children need to master at least one language (spoken or signed) t... more Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children need to master at least one language (spoken or signed) to reach their full potential. Providing access to a natural sign language supports this goal. Despite evidence that natural sign languages are beneficial to DHH children, many researchers and practitioners advise families to focus exclusively on spoken language. We critique the Pediatrics article ‘Early Sign Language Exposure and Cochlear Implants’ (Geers et al., 2017) as an example of research that makes unsupported claims against the inclusion of natural sign languages. We refute claims that (1) there are harmful effects of sign language and (2) that listening and spoken language are necessary for optimal development of deaf children. While practical challenges remain (and are discussed) for providing a sign language-rich environment, research evidence suggests that such challenges are worth tackling in light of natural sign languages providing a host of benefits for DHH children – esp...
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