Language mediation during consultations between deaf patients and health care providers at Chivhu Hospital, Zimbabwe
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines the extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated language barriers between the Deaf community and healthcare providers. Virtual interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with Deaf merchants and other Deaf people living in Chivhu, Zimbabwe, were used to gather data for the study. Observation and document analysis were also utilized to supplement these two approaches of data acquisition. The study used critical theory as its theoretical framework in order to better understand the communication difficulties between Deaf and Healthcare practitioners. According to the study's findings, Covid-19 had a significant impact on how Deaf people and healthcare workers interacted, which helped the Deaf population receive health services. In addition, the lack of qualified Sign Language interpreters to close the communication gap between Deaf patients and healthcare professionals made it more difficult for Deaf people to access healthcare facilities. The study suggests, among other initiatives, that during emergency crisis situations like those brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of Zimbabwe, the health system, and various stakeholders should provide accessible information and language mediators for the Deaf.
Article Details
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
References
Akach, P. A. O. (2010). Application of South African Sign Language (SASL) in a bilingual-bicultural approach in education of the deaf (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Free State).
Beaver, S. & Carty, B. (2021). Viewing the healthcare system through a deaf lens. Public Health Research & Practice, 31(5). https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp3152127
Bell, P., Lewenstein, B., Shouse, A. W. and Feder, M. A. (2009). Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits (140). National Academies Press.
Bonder, B., Martin, L. and Miracle, A. (2001). Achieving cultural competence: The challenge for clients and healthcare workers in a multicultural society. Generations, 25(1), 35-42.
Cawthon, S. W. (2001). Teaching strategies in inclusive classrooms with deaf students. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 6(3), 212-225.
Choruma, T. (2006). The forgotten tribe: People with disabilities in Zimbabwe. CIIR.
Galvin, N., Gilbert, A. W., Billany, J. C., Adam, R., Martin, L., Tobin, R., Bagdai, S., Farr, I., Allain, A., Davies, L. and Bateson, J. (2020). Rapid implementation of virtual clinics due to COVID-19: Report and early evaluation of a quality improvement initiative. BMJ Open Quality, 9(2), e000985.
Garg, S., Deshmukh, C. P., Singh, M. M., Borle, A. and Wilson, B. S. (2021). Challenges of the deaf and hearing impaired in the masked world of COVID-19. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 46(1), 11.
Government of Zimbabwe. (2013). Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act. Government Printers.
Government of Zimbabwe. (2021). The National Disability Policy. Government Printers.
Grote, H., Izagaren, F. (2020). Covid-19: “the communication n needs of D/ deaf healthcare workers and patients are being forgotten”. BMJ, 369.
Khlaifat, D. A. A. (2021). The impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic on Arab sign language interpreters. Multicultural Education, 7(2).
Kimumwe, P. (2020). Why access to information on Covid-19 is crucial to persons with disabilities in Africa. https://cipesa.org/2020/04/why-access-to-information-on-covid-19-is-crucial-to-persons-with-disabilities-in-africa/
Kritzinger, J., Schneider, M., Swartz, L. and Braathen, S. H. (2014). “I just answer ‘yes’ to everything they say”: Access to health care for deaf people in Worcester, South Africa and the politics of exclusion. Patient Education and Counselling, 94(3), 379-383.
Kuenburg, A., Fellinger, P. and Fellinger, J. (2016). Health care access among deaf people. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 21(1),1-10.
Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding deaf culture. In Understanding Deaf Culture. Multilingual Matters.
Manusov, V. and Keeley, M. P. (2015). When family talk is difficult: Making sense of nonverbal communication at the end-of-life. Journal of Family Communication, 15(4), 387-409.
McKinney, E. L., McKinney, V. and Swartz, L. (2021). Access to healthcare for people with disabilities in South Africa: Bad at any time, worse during COVID-19? South African Family Practice, 63(1).
Mhiripiri, N. A. and Midzi, R. (2021). Fighting for survival: persons with disabilities’ activism for the mediatisation of COVID-19 information. Media International Australia, 178(1),151-167.
Middleton, A., Emery, S., Palmer, C. and Boudreault, P. (2013). Deaf community and genetics. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mutswanga, P. and Sithole, C. (2014). Perceptions of people who are deaf on sign language teaching and communication by hearing people. Harare Urban, Zimbabwe.
Ndlovu E. (2020). Interpretation and translation as disciplines and professions in Zimbabwe: A critical appraisal. Language Matters 51(2): 129–147.
Ndlovu, E. and Dube, H. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic and the right of access to information conundrums in Zimbabwe. Social Sciences, 2(3).
O'Neill, N. T., Eck, T. F., Smirnov, A., Holben, B. N. and Thulasiraman, S. (2003). Spectral discrimination of coarse and fine mode optical depth. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 108(D17).
Shamsi, H., Almutairi, A. G., Al Mashrafi, S. and Al Kalbani, T. (2020). Implications of language barriers for healthcare: a systematic review. Oman Medical Journal, 35(2),122.
Skarbalienė, A., Skarbalius, E. and Gedrimė, L. (2019). Effective communication in the healthcare settings: are the graduates ready for it? Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 24(Special Issue),137-147.
Svongoro, P. and Matende, T. (2021). Covid-19 information gaps among the disadvantaged communities: The case of the deaf and limited English proficiency communities in Zimbabwe. Communitas, 26, 86-102.
UN. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html
Wheatley, T., Buchalter, M. B., Metcalfe, J. and Alcolado, J. C. (2001). Identification of mtDNA mutation in a pedigree with gestational diabetes, deafness. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and placenta accreta. Human Heredity, 51(1-2),114-116.
Deaf Zimbabwe Trust. (2015). Zimbabwe Sign Language Bill. https://deafzimbabwetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Zimbabwe-Sign-Language-Bill.pdf