Deaf women's experiences and satisfaction with prenatal care: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The quality of communication between physician and patient is a major contributor to patient satisfaction and treatment adherence. Deaf patients who use American Sign Language experience significant communication barriers in most medical settings. This study investigated factors impacting deaf patients' satisfaction with prenatal care and prenatal care disparities between deaf and hearing women. METHODS Questionnaires modified from Omar and Schiffman's prenatal satisfaction measure were administered to 23 deaf and 32 hearing women. RESULTS Deaf women were less satisfied than hearing women with physician communication and less satisfied with overall care. Deaf women's expectations about provision of interpreter services being met or exceeded was significantly associated with overall satisfaction. Hearing women had more prenatal care appointments and reported receiving more information from their doctors. CONCLUSIONS Maximizing communication effectiveness with deaf patients results in better prenatal care and improved patient satisfaction. Good communication includes conveying concern and making efforts to ensure that whatever communication methods used are effective.