Supporting Equity and Inclusion of Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing Individuals in Professional Organizations

Abstract

Disability is an important and often overlooked component of diversity. Individuals with disabilities bring a unique perspective to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) because of their unique experiences approaching complex issues related to health and disability, navigating the healthcare system, creatively solving problems unfamiliar to many individuals without disabilities, managing time and resources that are limited by physical or mental constraints, and advocating for themselves and others in the disabled community. Yet, individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in STEMM. Professional organizations can address this underrepresentation by recruiting individuals with disabilities for leadership opportunities, easing financial burdens, providing equal access, fostering peer-mentor groups, and establishing a culture of equity and inclusion spanning all facets of diversity. We are a group of deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) engineers, scientists, and clinicians, most of whom are active in clinical practice and/or auditory research. We have worked within our professional societies to improve access and inclusion for D/HH individuals and others with disabilities. We describe how different models of disability inform our understanding of disability as a form of diversity. We address heterogeneity within disabled communities, including intersectionality between disability and other forms of diversity. We highlight how the Association for Research in Otolaryngology has supported our efforts to reduce ableism and promote access and inclusion for D/HH individuals. We also discuss future directions and challenges. The tools and approaches discussed here can be applied by other professional organizations to include individuals with all forms of diversity in STEMM.

Development of Mobile <i>Apps</i> for Deaf Patients by Nursing Students: Let’s Consider the Difficulties through Deaf’s Perspective

“…Inclusion of deaf people has become an important debated topic in the present time (Huyck et al, 2021). Some articles, including some from Otoom and Alzubaidi (2018), highlighted the potential of prototype assistive devices to bridge communication gaps for Deaf/Hard of hearing individuals, allowing them to access and comprehend content delivered through mobile streaming videos.…”

“…Notwithstanding, it is still a great challenge to be overcome within healthcare services, despite the ongoing laws to assure full healthcare access to these people, especially in Brazil (Gomes et al, 2017). Thus the communication between the deaf patient and healthcare professionals is an issue that has been leading to significant loss in quality of life of this group and that should be a continued concern and a demand to attend for the health professionals (Silva & Bordas, 2020;Huyck et al, 2021).…”

“…Considering the current scenario of technology development, mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, as well as mobiles apps might be used to help deaf people at social and health-attending situations (Barra et al, 2017, Huyck et al, 2021. Therefore, this study is a report from nursing students from a federal university about a strategy regarding the development of applications destined to help them on treating deaf people.…”

Editorial: Ear and Hearing’s Commitment to Promoting Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Research on Hearing and Hearing Healthcare

“…It seems reasonable to suggest that success in understanding and appreciating power imbalances may be related to the diversity and inclusivity of the students and faculty within the training environment. Improving diversity within the fields of otolaryngology and audiology—important training grounds for hearing research—continues to be challenging (Wilbur et al 2020; Huyck et al 2021; Smith et al 2021). Similar attention is needed to encourage diversity and inclusivity for authors producing and disseminating research to advance knowledge.…”