Health Information Needs of d/Deaf Adolescent Females A Call to Action

• Published in: American annals of the deaf (Washington, D.C. 1886) Vol. 157; no. 1; pp. 41 - 47
• Main Authors: Smith, Chad E., Massey-Stokes, Marilyn, Lieberth, Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Gallaudet University Press 2012
• Subjects: Access to Information; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adolescent Health Services - organization & administration; Adolescents; Adults; Age Factors; American Sign Language; Annual Reports; Auditory perception; Child Abuse; Children & youth; Communication Skills; Computer mediated communication; Consumer Health Information - organization & administration; Deaf education; Deafness; Deafness - psychology; Developmental Tasks; Drug Use; Face (Body); FEATURE ARTICLES; Female; Females; Hard of Hearing; Health Behavior; Health care; Health information; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health literacy; Health Literacy - organization & administration; Health Materials; Health Promotion; Health risk assessment; Hearing Loss - psychology; High School Students; Humans; Information Literacy; Information Needs; Information Seeking; Information Seeking Behavior; Internet; Interpersonal Relationship; Literacy; Mental Health; Nutrition; Organizational Objectives; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Persons With Hearing Impairments - psychology; Physical Activities; Puberty; Public Health; Public Schools; Risk; Self Actualization; Self Concept; Sex Factors; Teenagers; United States; Women's Health Services - organization & administration; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0002-726X; 1543-0375; 1543-0375
• DOI: 10.1353/aad.2012.1608

ADOLESCENT HEALTH and health literacy are critical health topics recognized in Healthy People 2020. Evidence indicates that adolescents who are d/Deaf have unique health-related needs, yet health communication efforts have not reached them. Despite the Internet’s exponential growth and the growth of online health information–seeking behavior among adolescents, reliable information devoted specifically to d/Deaf adolescents who communicate primarily in ASL is rare. D/deaf adolescent females face numerous challenges accessing web-based health information to enhance their decision making about important health issues such as body image, physical activity and nutrition, puberty, and relationships. A strong need exists for interdisciplinary professionals to investigate the health interests and online health information–seeking behaviors of this group in order to effectively plan, implement, and evaluate a web-based health repository that delivers content in ASL. ThisCall to Actionrepresents a first step in addressing that need.