High General Health Literacy Does Not Ensure Hearing Loss Health Literacy in Mothers of Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize general health literacy and hearing loss health literacy for mothers of children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Method: Participants included 25 mothers of 2-year-old and 3-year-old children who had a diagnosis of permanent, bilateral hearing loss for at least 1 year. Measures of general health literacy and hearing loss health literacy were collected. Results: Results indicated that mothers had high general health literacy but had lower hearing loss health literacy skills than expected. Although mothers had high education and experience of at least 1 year of having a child with hearing loss, performance on hearing loss health literacy measures was low. Conclusion: Caregiver understanding of hearing loss terminology and concepts is essential for decision making regarding their child's hearing loss health care.