Background Barriers to communication for those with hearing loss are not only associated with social, emotional, educational and occupational difficulties, but also with reduced access to essential healthcare services, health information, and poorer health outcomes (Emond et al., 2015). These concerns are amplified with mandates such as physical distancing and the use of masks, which although needed to prevent respiratory transmission of SARS-Cov-2, obscure access to facial features needed for lipreading and sign language. Objectives To compare the disparities of health knowledge and practice surrounding COVID-19, if any, among hearing and Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals. Methods A total of 110 (70 hearing and 40 DHH) participants were recruited in the unique linguistic context of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia utilising a cross-sectional electronic survey. Participants were differentiated according to status of hearing loss, communication mode, as well as country, age, sex, occupation, education level and satisfaction with available information. Various aspects of knowledge relating to COVID-19 and associated public health measures were tested by means of a questionnaire. Results A multivariate regression analysis showed that both the degree of hearing loss, and use of sign language as the primary means of communication were associated with lower scores. In addition, disparities exist in the use of health information sources, where DHH participants relied mostly on social media compared to the hearing group who relied predominantly on official government sources. Conclusions In light of the pandemic, bridging the gap in health literacy for DHH individuals is essential in both policy and practice, in order to ensure equal access to healthcare and universal compliance with health directives at the population level.

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The purpose of this article is to discuss the major research findings associated with the reading/literacy development of students who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) in inclusive education classrooms. The conditions for developing effective literacy skills are also described. A professional review approach was utilized, and relevant journal articles from 1985 to 2019, inclusive, were selected and analyzed. Other relevant publications including selected chapters and books were used to support the available salient findings. Results of the reviews, recommendations for future research and the limitations of the review process are also provided.

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