Evaluating a skin cancer education program for the Deaf community

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Audiology

Background:

• Skin cancer is a common, preventable, and treatable disease, making public education crucial.
• The Deaf community faces significant barriers in accessing standard health information, necessitating tailored educational strategies.
• Effective communication of skin cancer information is vital for this underserved population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of an American Sign Language (ASL) video in improving skin cancer knowledge among the Deaf community.
• To compare knowledge gains between participants who viewed the ASL skin cancer video and those who viewed an alternative video.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 136 participants, with 75 in the ASL video group and 61 in the control group.
• Knowledge questionnaires administered at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at a 2-month follow-up.
• A delayed intervention design allowed control participants to view the ASL video after the initial study period.

Main Results:

• Participants viewing the ASL skin cancer video demonstrated significantly greater knowledge gains compared to the control group.
• The intervention proved effective in enhancing skin cancer control knowledge.
• No significant difference in knowledge gains was observed between the initial experimental group and the delayed intervention group.

Conclusions:

• An ASL-based educational video is an effective tool for increasing skin cancer knowledge in the Deaf community.
• Tailored health communication strategies are essential for improving health literacy in populations with unique accessibility needs.
• The study highlights the importance of developing culturally and linguistically appropriate health education materials.