In 2010 SignHealth began the first stage of a major research project, looking at the health of Deaf people.
We began with on online survey, asking questions about health, lifestyle and access to health services. That is now known as stage one of the Sick Of It research programme.
The findings are focused on the 533 survey respondents with the strongest Deaf identity. They were people who described themselves as Deaf, and were born deaf or lost their hearing before the age of 5. They prefer to communicate using British Sign Language (BSL) or Sign Supported English (SSE), rather than using English (including lip reading and written communication).
Wherever possible the survey data has been compared with UK or England-wide comparative data drawn from large national surveys of the ‘general’ population. You can read, or download, this section of the research here. The full report on all three stages of the project are written up as the Sick Of It report.
Sick Of It is available as a concise report at www.sick-of-it.com, and in more detail for professionals at www.signhealth.org.uk/sick-of-it-professionals.
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