Abstract #128  -  Literature Review Linking HIV/AIDS and Deafness
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Dr. Jill Hanass-Hancock - University of KwaZulu-Natal
Additional Authors:  Mrs. Loveness Satanda, Dr. Jill Hanass-Hancock,
Aim: People with a hearing impairment are particularly vulnerable to HIV. Yet only very few countries include disability as a sector in their National AIDS Plan. This is not surprising as evidence based information about people with hearing impairments is still scattered. This scattered evidence will be brought together in this review to map the focus of future research.
Method / Issue: A systematic literature review was conducted on 26 electronic data bases using a search string with synonyms for HIV, AIDS and hearing impairment/deafness. It focused on surveys, articles, and documents with empirical data. Experts were contacted and conference papers hand searched. All eligible articeles were analysed for their regional focus, methodology and outcomes.
Results / Comments: Only very few articles have been published that focus on people with hearing impairments/deafness and HIV&AIDS. However within the topic of disabilities and HIIV&AIDS a large percentage concentrates on people with hearing impariments/deafness. Articles on deafness and HIV&AIDS were first published in the late 1990s and social science surveys have been conducted since 2000. Studies were located in Brazil, USA, Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda and Swaziland. The three prevalence studies reveal that deaf people are as likely, and in some countries twice as likely (USA) to be infected with HIV, yet because of stigma and lack of sign interpreters they cannot access prevention programmes and treatment. KAP surveys indicate that deaf people have less knowledge and more misconceptions about HIV. On a behaviour scale, surveys indicate that deaf people have little information about condom use and accessibility. In some countires they use condoms very seldomly. Some studies indicate that due to social stigma, deaf people have fluctuating sexual partners and/or choose partners within the deaf circle only (USA).
Discussion: Although research is still scarce recent years have seen an increase in publications in the field of hearing impariments/deafness and HIV&AIDS. Within the field of disability, deaf people are the only group of people with disabilities on which prevelance data is available . However this is the case only in three countries and prevalance data is still one of the most urgently needed data within the field. While the issue of vulnerability and lack of access to service delivery has been discussed in the literature, very few studies focus on evaluation of prevention-intervention, sexual abuse, sexual identity or analyse national data (e.g. DHS). Responding to the needs, some interventions have been designed to include deaf people into services as beneficeries as well as as peer counselor. The Liverpool VCT sites in Kenya are for instance run by, and for people with hearing impairments or deafness. Their program is a good example of service delivery and operational research going hand in hand while producing crucial data like (for instance prevelance data).
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