Monday, February 23, 2015 -- Kingston, Jamaica; Deaf persons seeking routine medical and dental care have a major language communication obstacle, according to surveys conducted by the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona among the special needs population. The university's Faculty of Medical Sciences is attempting to address the needs of the hearing impaired by making it mandatory for dentists and other medical practitioners to be functional in sign language. The latest thrust in the effort to improve the situation, is two electronic books, prepared in conjunction with the Department of Language and Linguistics, to guide medical practitioners and dentists in communicating with deaf patients.
The books, Caribbean Sign Language For Dentistry - A Guide To Communicating With Deaf Patients For Dental Practitioners and Caribbean Sign Language For Medicine-A Guide To Communicating With Deaf Patients For Medical Practitioners by Keren Cumberbatch were launched during Research Days 2015 at the University of the West Indies Mona, on Wednesday, February 11.
Dr Thaon Jones, Programme Director, Dentistry, in the Faculty of Medical Sciences pointed out that a significant number of persons in the deaf community no longer visit a dental practitioner for routine treatment because there is too great a communication challenge. This is compared to the situation in more developed countries where healthcare facilities are equipped with an interpreter who can facilitate meaningful interaction between the dentist and the hearing impaired.
"The deaf population is reluctant to visit our offices and in addition we are forced to make up hand signs. But we recognize that the hearing impaired have their own language that we should learn in order to effectively communicate. If we can institute this system where the practitioner can speak sign language, the need for the interpreter is eliminated," he said.
Discussions have been tabled with policy makers to accommodate deaf persons by having a trained sign language practitioner in health centres. The UWI is looking to take this step further by making the books available online to practicing dentists and medical doctors and offering courses at the institution.
"In the dentistry programme, the teaching of sign language is mandatory; we believe that our students need to develop a sense of empathy and understanding of special needs groups and we started with sign language. We ask our students to do the basic sign language course where they learn Caribbean Sign Language. Then we decided we needed a specialist course where they learn sign language in dentistry and medicine," Dr Jones added.
Having had first-hand experience of the challenges faced by deaf people in the medical field, Dr Keren Cumberbatch, Lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics is happy with the collaboration.
"The quality of care given to deaf patients is different from that given to their hearing peers simply because of a communication barrier, so I am so proud of [the Faculty of] Medical Sciences for seeing the need to get these medical and dental students on board," she said.
Dr Cumberbatch, went on to explain that the electronic book is a compilation of visual simulations of real life experiences in sign language. The books include sections on deaf culture and debunking myths that all deaf persons want to hear, and that sign language everywhere in the world is the same. They also also explain norms and values of the deaf culture and show how deaf etiquette is different from hearing etiquette. Students will learn sign language vocabulary and are able to see the terms explained by the doctor in sign language.
During the recently held Research Days 2015 exposition, the School of Dentistry also hosted a forum to discuss the plans for the Mona Campus dental programme and facilitated guided tours of the newly opened UWI Mona Dental Polyclinic.
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