Hospitals should train their staff in sign language
A patient receives treatment during a free medical camp in Nakuru organised by Starkey Hearing Foundation and Operation Ear Drop- Kenya. Most health workers in Kenya are not trained in sign language. File
A recent demonstration in Nairobi by a group protesting exclusion of sign language in media programming raised eyebrows.
While the manner in which the grievance was raised was not the best, it brings to fore the reality of life in Kenya— exclusion of people with disability from knowledge and education material.
The problem is not just limited to access to general information or news, but also essential information like health education.
For the afflicted group perhaps, the emotions have been heightened by the ongoing political campaigns. It seems they feel excluded from hearing what their preferred candidates are talking about and also who is championing their agenda: so they can make better choices before the poll.
The challenges posed by this situation were highlighted to me about a year ago. A teenage girl who has both her speech and hearing impaired was brought to the clinic by her grandmother. The girl was six months pregnant.
Needless to say the consultation was a harrowing experience as none of of us could fully relay what the other party was asking. Fortunately, this was not an emergency case.
For issues that are sensitive or of a private nature such as HIV care or teenage pregnancy consultation, having a third party present often is the cause of delay or anxiety in seeking help for such patients.
The event served to highlight the plight of this group, particularly concerning reproductive, sexual health and HIV/Aids awareness.
Like other teenagers, puberty poses a risk for the group. To try and tackle the issue, a few groups are encouraging more awareness about the challenges people with disabilities face in life.
Solomon Otieno’s organisation, Furaha Centre for the Deaf, is trying to tackle problems amongst the disabled and society in general.
The centre empowers its members through education on healthcare issues like those I have mentioned, equipping them with life skills and vocational training to allow them have some income-generation activities.
Most importantly, the organisation is striving to improve sign language literacy among health workers.
From our chat, it is obvious that as a society we have not invested enough resources, time and energy in helping such groups. No wonder this “disenfranchised” feeling arises among people living with disabilities.
According to the 2009 census about 187,816 people have hearing impairment while 161,798 others require speech therapy.
Though the numbers may appear small in comparison to the population of 40 million, exclusion of this minority to community from important issues is akin to marginalisation.
While a lot of health workers are willing to learn sign language to help patients with speech and hearing impairment, the cost of the training means only a few are able to pay for themselves.
So how do we help? Organisations like Furaha Centre should be supported to train more health workers. Hospitals and health schemes should also be required to have at least one member of staff conversant with sign language.
In addition to training medical personnel, social workers should be prioritised. To achieve this, the national disability body or the Ministry of Health can sponsor willing workers for such training. Hospitals should also do this as part of their routine training of staff.
