Date of Award
4-3-2026
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Abbi Simons
Second Advisor
Poorna Kushalnagar
Abstract
Early detection is one of medicine's powerful tools; routine cancer screenings can help diagnose cancer early and enable immediate treatment. Cancer screening and prevention efforts have accounted for 4.75 million (80%) cancer deaths averted between 1975 and 2020 for five major cancer types (NIH, 2025). Nevertheless, this powerful tool is not shared equally. Many deaf adults who use English still experience barriers and disparities. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate how deaf English-using individuals in the United States interact with their healthcare providers and whether these interactions are associated with cancer screening interest among these populations. The data for this study were obtained from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cycle 6 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). The total sample was 4,714 people. The sample was narrowed to individuals who self-identified as deaf, totaling 423. 4,291 were hearing. Demographics, all patient-provider communication variables, and screening variables were analyzed. The statistically significant results show that deaf English using participants reported that professionals did not include them in decision-making about their health and that providers often explained information in ways they could not understand. Deaf English-using adults are more likely to report fair or poor health (29.0%) than their hearing counterparts (16.7%). The findings of this study can inform efforts to improve communication between deaf English-using patients and providers. By identifying areas of communication that healthcare systems and providers need to improve upon, ensuring consistent, accessible communication with deaf English-using patients, and developing systems and tools that ensure deaf patients receive complete information during their medical appointments.
Recommended Citation
Luttrell, Ciara, "Patient-Provider Communication Among Deaf English Users: Disparities and Implications for Cancer Screening" (2026). Undergraduate University Honors Capstones. 144.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/honors_capstones/144
