Communication in the doctor's office: Deaf patients talk about their physicians

This qualitative study examines the experiences of deaf patients in the medical setting. The study is based on interviews with fifteen deaf people from the Syracuse area and reveals some of the issues and problems that these patients face in navigating what is essentially an aural, communication-inaccessible world that does not understand their needs and aspirations. The data also discloses some of the perceptions and strategies these patients have developed to help them obtain the medical care they need despite the communication barriers inherent in the medical environment. My hope is that this work will help bring to the surface what it is like to be a deaf patient in a doctor's office or the hospital so as to help medical personnel improve their delivery of health care to this population.