Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service I (Projects aiming to improve efficiency and effectiveness of care delivery to meet international standards)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service III (Projects aiming at quality service to patients and their carers)
Authors (including presenting author) :
CY Lam(1), PY Lee(1), SW Chan(2), HY Wai(3)
Affiliation :
(1)Registered Nurse, Department of Anaesthesia, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital
(2)Registered Nurse, Day Surgery Centre, Department of Ophthalmology, Grantham Hospital
(3)Registered Nurse, Operating Theatre Service, Department of Surgery, Tung Wah Hospital
Introduction :
Globally, over 1.5 billion people experience hearing loss, with an ageing population aggravating communication challenges in healthcare—particularly in fast-paced operative settings where face masks impede communication with Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) patients. Perioperative nurses are pivotal in advocating for DHH patients' equal care access rights.
Objectives :
To bridge the communication gap in patient-staff interactions and promote efficiency of perioperative care for DHH patients, the operation theatre in Queen Mary Hospital as a pilot site has introduced evidence-based tools throughout the perioperative phase, including sign language videos, visual aids with amplified text, quick reference sign language charts, handover tools, and tech solutions like portable amplifiers and iPads for online interpretation. In December 2023, perioperative nurses were trained on these tools' utilisation to maintain effective communication with DHH patients.
Methodology :
A quasi-experimental design was used to assess the effectiveness of the communication tools among perioperative nurses through a pretest and posttest comparison.
Result & Outcome :
In the pretest, the majority identified the challenges of current communication practices and the limited accessibility of sign language interpretation services. This data strongly indicates the need for improvement in communicating with DHH patients in the operating theatre.
In the posttest , nurses provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, highlighting the benefits of improved communication, assistance with patient assessment, ease of use and access, enhanced staff confidence and communication skills, and commitment to future usage. This positive feedback demonstrates that the project successfully reduces communication barriers between perioperative nurses and DHH patients. Qualitative data from nurses who used the tools indicated increased time efficiency, convenience, and decreased difficulty in assessing and collecting accurate information from DHH patients across all perioperative stages, resulting in high satisfaction.
In conclusion, integrating comprehensive communication tools effectively reduced the communication barriers that perioperative nurses faced when caring for DHH patients. Given the limited patient sample in the pilot project, the next phase will involve directly evaluating the perioperative experience of DHH patients, as well as expanding the use of the communication tools to other areas within our specialties, such as the pain team and pre-anaesthetic clinic. This will further enhance accessibility and quality of care for patients with hearing impairments.
