Article

The purpose of this paper is to identify the workplace accommodations
used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, to report the perceived
impact of the accommodations and to identify unmet needs with respect to
workplace accommodations. METHOD: Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
participated in an online survey. Respondents identified with one of four levels
of functional hearing ability and selected from descriptions of workplace
accommodations. Each selection was ranked according to perceived importance,
satisfaction and frequency of use. Respondents also commented on unmet needs.
RESULTS: The most common accommodations were telephone aids (55%), co-worker
helps (34%) and electronic communication (31%). Importance and frequency of use
ranked high among most respondents (76% and 87%, respectively). However,
perceived satisfaction ranked high among only 50% of respondents. The most common
unmet needs were effective communication in groups and lack of co-worker support.
CONCLUSIONS: Workplace accommodations are viewed as important and frequently used
by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, satisfaction with the
accommodations is marginal at best. Unmet needs remain in the areas of
communication in meetings, support of co-workers and the development of a more
universally accessible workplace environment.

Langue : ANGLAIS