Meaning and experiences of participation: a phenomenological study with persons with deafblindness in India

Factors that influence the participation of individuals with deafblindness: A qualitative study with rehabilitation service providers in India

Evidence to inform rehabilitation service delivery for individuals with deafblindness, especially in the Indian context, is inadequate. Rehabilitation professionals often find it challenging to design rehabilitation interventions that promote participation for those with deafblindness. Therefore, our purpose was to understand the contextual factors that influence the participation of individuals with deafblindness in India from the perspectives of those who are involved in providing rehabilitation services to them. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a framework, we conducted two focus group discussions with 16 rehabilitation service providers in India. We used a content analysis approach to examine the data. Rehabilitation service providers perceived participation barriers to be linked primarily to the social environment. Specifically, participants identified four major factors acting as barriers, including (a) lack of awareness about deafblindness; (b) negative attitudes and stigma associated with disability; (c) lack of access to resources such as assistive technology and interpreter support; and (d) communication challenges associated with severe impairments. Facilitators include accessibility of the built environment for multisensory impairments, affordable technology, provision of an interpreter and personal support worker, and training on deafblindness for professionals. The participation of individuals with deafblindness could be enhanced by identifying and removing environmental barriers and improving knowledge about deafblindness among rehabilitation professionals for proper identification, assessment, and access to rehabilitation services.

Living with deafblindness during COVID-19: An international webinar to facilitate global knowledge translation

Arguably, individuals living with deafblindness are among the hardest hit by the effects of the corona virus disease of 2019 (COVID- 19), given the importance of the sense of touch for their ability to interact with the world. To address this challenge, it is imperative to facilitate the implementation of evidence- and experience-based recommendations, and to improve knowledge translation on a global scale. Deafblind International organized a webinar to provide a platform where participants could exchange experiences and solutions to overcome the challenges created by the arrival of COVID-19, in order to facilitate information exchange among stakeholders in deafblindness during this pandemic. We present an overview of its content here and place the summarized themes in context with existing research literature. Abstract submission was open for 4 weeks in May 2020, resulting in 30 submissions from 13 countries across 5 continents. Of the 26 presenter teams, 9 (35%) had a co-presenter that was living with deafblindness themselves. The number of individual participants across all sessions ranged from 55 to 140 ( M = 98), with a total of 3709 session registrations overall, and the organizers estimate a total attendance of around 400 participants. Based on extensive field notes taken during the webinar, and repeated viewing of the recordings, qualitative description allowed the team to synthesize eight principal themes across the event: access to information, communication, service accessibility, adaptations to service delivery, online safety and security, physical distancing, mental health and research. The first Deafblind International webinar was able to fill an important gap by bringing together a variety of stakeholders in deafblindness across the globe. The event created a sense of group membership and peer support, brought the participants, researchers, the professionals as well as their service agencies closer together and generated a sense of hope and collaboration.

Informed Consent or Assent Strategies for Research With Individuals With Deafblindness or Dual Sensory Impairment: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

To synthesize evidence on existing informed consent/assent strategies and processes that enable the participation of individuazls with deafblindness or dual sensory impairment in research.

DATA SOURCES

Five scientific databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) and other sources such as Google Scholar, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, and British Journal of Visual Impairment were hand-searched from January 2015 until July 2020.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies were selected using a priori inclusion criteria of sensory and cognitive disabilities and focused on consent/assent strategies and processes in research within this population. Articles related to the medical or sexual consent processes were excluded.

DATA EXTRACTION

An Excel spreadsheet was used to extract data from the eligible sources. Discrepancies were resolved in discussion with team members.

DATA SYNTHESIS

A total of 2163 sources were screened, and 16 articles were included in the review. Seven sources only examined consent strategies, whereas the remaining 8 included a combination of consent/assent and dissent strategies. Using thematic analysis, 3 key themes emerged: consent/assent strategies, researcher capacity, and capacity to consent tools. Key identified strategies included the accessibility of the consent/assent process, building relationships with participants and caregivers, identifying behavioral cues, and communication training for researchers.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the absence of literature on consent/assent strategies within the population with deafblindness, the review found promising strategies applied to individuals with other cognitive or sensory disabilities that researchers can adopt. Researchers are encouraged to use best practices in creating an inclusive research environment to include individuals with deafblindness.

Device abandonment in deafblindness: a scoping review of the intersection of functionality and usability through the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health lens

OBJECTIVES

Abandonment of vision, hearing or mobility aids suggests common barriers and facilitators to ongoing device use. However, the possible interactive effects of combined hearing and vision disabilities on device use by those living with deafblindness are unclear. Here we summarise existing knowledge on variables influencing assistive technology use from the perspective of persons living with deafblindness. We used the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework to contextualise the findings, asking 'What is currently known about variables influencing the (non-)use of assistive devices recommended for persons with deafblindness?'

DESIGN

A scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed; ProQuest: ERIC; ProQuest Dissertation; ProQuest: Sociological Thesaurus; Web of Science; Scientific Electronic Library Online; Bielefeld Academic Search Engine; Pascal & Francis; APA PsycINFO and Ebsco for CINAHL were searched through 9 November 2020.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We included peer-reviewed studies that reported on assistive technology, device abandonment/utilisation and provided data from persons living with deafblindness.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Four team members independently scored 83 studies for eligibility.

RESULTS

Ten articles were chosen for data extraction. The emerging variables replicated established categories of barriers and facilitators: personal, device-related, environmental and intervention variables. The use of the ICF highlighted how an intermediate variable (eg, device acceptability) was necessary in order for a variable to become a barrier or a facilitator to device use.

CONCLUSIONS

The variables influencing device use by persons with deafblindness followed the same categories described for single impairments. Usability was challenged in devices that rely on the 'other' sense. Haptic and tactile aids are rarely studied. The limited available information and the dire need for assistive technologies for people with deafblindness emphasises the urgency of research and technology development for this marginalised population.