Maximising well being:  addressing the health inequalities faced by Deaf people Jac Ross, Equality and Human Rights Manager Paul Hull Health Improvement Officer Mental Health an Deafness Intro me and paul

Cover today The connection between discrimination and poor health What does discrimination and poor access mean for Deaf people How does it impact on their mental health  What can be done to offset this from society to the individual? Promoting good mental health The connection between discrimination and poor health is well described in relation to many groups.  What does discrimination and poor access mean for Deaf people and how does it impact on their mental health.  What can be done to offset this experience and what does the Deaf community say about what we should do to make services accessible. 

Minority group or groups in small numbers replace this with Deaf Stress The first stage of minority stress theory holds that being in a minority group is associated with increased exposure to stressors, such as prejudice and discrimination. Indeed, despite significant improvement over the past several decades, numerous studies have confirmed that minority individuals continue to face high rates of distal stressors. Assumptions of abilities, names, social isolation What does this mean? Second stage when expossed to disc and prejudice internal processes that are presumed to occur following exposure to discrimination and prejudice include fear of rejection, Shame, poor self esteem, self worth. Not value yourself for who you are.

Discrimination and poor access for Deaf people Exclusion from work Income inequality / poverty Restricted access to housing Restricted access to education Poor health / higher mortality rate Hate Crime What does this mean in reality?

Look at Deafness and mental health as an example Paul will now go through these ideas. Paul introduce self and job

Deafness and Mental Health Lack of accessible health information in BSL leads to poor knowledge about mental health Lack of access to informal information Communication with mental health staff is problematic Understanding language of mental health Lack of understanding of deaf culture in staff First thing to say is that these are the barriers described by Deaf people

What creates good health? Jackie slide from the main presentation showed us the different level that impact on whether our health is good or not – next slide shows an exercise

Take 5 minutes to think about the issues Then group discussion about

...by the NHS, HSCPs, the voluntary sector. What can be done to impact positively on the health of Deaf people at a:- Society level Community level Individual level ...by the NHS, HSCPs, the voluntary sector. Paul ask people to contribute to ideas – Jac flip chart (15 mins) Society: Legislation makes postive impact for Deaf people - BSL Act…promotes the language, Equality Act…ensure rights of access. Anything else? Community: good social networks means good health..does Deaf commity have this within the commiunity what about with hearing people Family: isolation within families are there good things that would promote good health? Individual: targetted work, improived access to informaiton any other examples? 3 clear questions – who does what govt do HSCP?

Possible solutions are: Implement the BSL Act Modify laws in governmental level to meet Deaf person’s employment needs. Use equitable partnerships to include Deaf people in health and mental health research Create and implement health information materials that are truly accessible to deaf people Educate and employ Deaf people in the public health world Heres some ideas we prepared earlier

Our action plan to promote positive mental health To finsih – ideas of what we are doing on mental health…

Promotion of well being with Deaf people Improved health literacy Reduce stigma - films Improve access - posters Asset building

Improve social capital - champions Challenge poor access with support from the 3rd sector Work with our staff Continuous improvement with Interpreting Service.

Any questions?