For deaf individuals, repeated mistreatment and poor quality of healthcare treatment can cause them to avoid seeking out health care. The exposure of deaf people to these microaggressions and avoidance of healthcare as a result can cause a magnification of health related issues, inadequate treatment, and increased length of treatment.

Deaf avoidance of healthcare

There is a conflict between the deaf and research community surrounding the meaning of "deafness".

Researchers tend to follow a "medical modal" which focuses on finding ways to cure, fix, or alleviate problems of hearing loss

Many deaf individuals however follow a cultural modal towards deafness. They do not believe that they need to be fixed, and hold a sense of pride and value their community of deafness. They value the rich culture with shared experiences, art, literature, and history. 



Medical vs. Cultural Model of Deafness

Early literature regarding deaf individuals described them as emotionally and cognitively deficient compared to hearing people. Many of these beliefs were drawn from research that used psychological measures unfit to access deaf individuals. There was and continues to be a lack of adequate cognitive and emotional assessment measures developed or standardized for the deaf population.

State University of New York at Buffalo

- Lack of access to efficacious treatment
- Barriers to Treatment
- Confidentiality Concerns
- Historical Misinformation

Factors Contributing to Deaf Health Disparities

Anderson ML, Wolf Craig KS, Ziedonis DM. Barriers and Facilitators to Deaf Trauma Survivors' Help-Seeking Behavior: Lessons for Behavioral Clinical Trials Research. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2017 Jan;22(1):118-130. doi: 10.1093/deafed/enw066. Epub 2016 Nov 23. PMID: 27881479; PMCID: PMC6083920.

Barriers and Facilitators to Deaf Trauma Survivors’ Help-Seeking Behavior: Lessons for Behavioral Clinical Trials Research

Hearing individuals seeking trauma treatment have many options for treatment supported by evidence based practice.

The deaf population has not validated any evidence-based behavioral health treatments.

The National Association for State Mental Health Program Directors has emphasized the current lack of resources for research and treatment. They are pushing for more research and prioritizing empirical development and evaluation of trauma treatment approaches for the deaf community

Lack of access to efficacious treatment

There are obstacles that impede help for deaf individuals seeking treatment such as: language barriers in the behavioral health system, limited health literacy, small community dynamics, and stigma

There is a lack of ASL-Fluent clinicians and ASL interpreters who are trained in behavioral health or trauma informed care.

Barriers to deaf treatment

Deaf individuals seeking mental health services face confidentiality concerns for their private information. The deaf community is relatively small and ASL interpreters and Deaf-specialized clinicians may exist within the same social circles as their clients. This increases the probability of private information being spread amongst other members of the community against the clients will.

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