A Study on the Influencing Factors of Deaf Peoples Medical Behavior and Attitude in Shanghai

Abstract

During an emergency medical treatment experience, one of our team members saw a deaf person with heart discomfort who could not express his condition to the doctor and felt anxious and helpless and thus began to pay attention to the medical treatment of deaf people. In the preliminary research, the team found that the medical treatment process and experience of deaf people are inconvenient. Some deaf people show more negative medical treatment behavior and attitude. Therefore, on this basis, the research question of this paper is further proposed: what are the difficulties and obstacles existing in the current medical treatment of deaf people? What factors influence the medical treatment behavior and attitude of deaf people? Taking the deaf-dumb people in Shanghai as the research target, this paper conducts a relevant investigation utilizing a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and participatory observation. A total of 148 questionnaires were collected, and ten deaf patients, volunteers, and professionals from deaf organizations were interviewed for interviewing method. The team members also launched a participatory observation by volunteering at the deaf and hard-of-hearing outpatient clinic. This study found that some deaf people in Shanghai have negative attitudes and behaviors toward medical treatment, mainly manifested as reluctance to see a doctor in time, fear of going to the hospital, and distrust of the medical system and doctors. The main reasons for this problem are as follows: poor communication quality, low self-confidence, poor financial conditions, doctors negative attitudes, unavailability of voice services, and lack of volunteers. With the development of digital media in recent years, the difficulties in diagnosing and treating deaf patients have been alleviated.