Patient narratives are widely acknowledged as an important contributor in gaining a deeper understanding of the experiences and emotions that impact a patient’s health care. HLAA’s Communication Access in Health Care program recognizes that the inclusion of all stakeholders…researchers, providers, administrators, staff and patients is critical to achieving communication access; therefore, their narratives are equally valuable. The voices of these stakeholder groups are represented here through interviews, presentations and written narratives.
Having progressive hearing loss since a preschooler, once again, I was on my own. My first thought was “I can’t bluff.”
Wynne Whyman
Simple steps to anticipate the needs of our patients with hearing loss can make a significant difference to elevate their experience.
Silvina de la Iglesia
As a person with hearing loss, effective communication in medical settings is very often challenging.
Anthony Cannella
My experience demonstrates the need for training providers in the use of effective communication strategies…from the beginning of each health care experience.
Terri Shirley
I learned a lot, yet even with life-changing cochlear implants, about 20% of words remain unclear.
Sharon Thurston and Andrea Kaneb
Everyone has the potential to communicate and the right to communicate and rely on healthcare systems to support their abilities to communicate.
Tami Altschuler
Just as in face-to-face encounters, the success of telehealth is often dependent on factors I cannot control.
Barbara Burton
Our interventional audiology models are designed to be overseen by audiologists who specialize in hearing and communication….
Catherine Palmer
…I will always be evaluating how a system offers their services and working to improve those that are interfacing their services with me.
Eloise Schwarz
…advocacy and education need to be done…so we can fully participate with others, communicate smoothly, and avoid costly misunderstandings, especially in our health care.
MaryJo Stanley