Assessing the Impact of Video Remote Sign Language Interpreting in Healthcare: Linking Disability Studies with Empirical Challenges of Public Health Research

Persons with disabilities have poorer health than the general population due to a variety of circumstances, which may differ for people with different impairments. To address these disparities, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the diversity among disabled people; including the fact that persons with different impairments face different barriers and might benefit from different types of intervention. It is also important to address ethical engagement, respect for personhood, and the rights of the individual while promoting methodological rigor. This project aims to link disability theory with empirical challenges of public health research. The two main objectives for this project are:
1. To link disability theory with the empirical challenges of public health research. By gathering empirical evidence on the health needs of Deaf persons and testing an intervention that responds to the structural and societal factors that are in tune with impairments to determine how an individual experiences health and disability.
2. To leverage changes in health care systems, using existing and new evidence regarding good practices for remote video sign language interpreting and disability-inclusive approach assessment for public health interventions.