ABSTRACT
The main obstacles faced by deaf people in access to healthcare services were investigated in the literature. This is an integrative literature review, considering studies published between 2006 and 2016, using combinations of controlled descriptors. The virtual databases used were: LILACS, PUBMED and SciELO, including articles published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The final sample was composed of 24 articles, selected after analysis of titles, abstracts and full texts. The elected studies were categorized according to themes and to the presented difficulties, mainly concerning communication obstacles between deaf and normally hearing people. This fact interferes on the doctor-patient relationship, producing a poor understanding by the deaf community about the health-disease process and causing a challenging integration of those people in the society. The majority of the analyzed studies indicated that the main obstacles faced by the deaf regarding the access to healthcare services are communication related, especially the healthcare professionals unfamiliarity with the Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS). In addition, there is also the need for a family member or interpreter to be present during the consultation. Furthermore, the lack of perception on the hearing society part, of the deaf community as bilingual and multicultural subjects, was verified.
Keywords:
Deafness; Hearing Impaired Persons; Health Services Acessibility; Health Equity; Health Care Quality, Access and Evaluation