Satisfaction of deaf patients with the health care

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the satisfaction of deaf people in relation to the health services, to characterize the sample regarding sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and self-perception of deafness, and to verify if there is an association between satisfaction with care, communication, professionals, and self-perception of deafness. Methods: an observational, cross-sectional study conducted with a semi-structured questionnaire in 74 deaf adults. A descriptive analysis of the characterization of the sample and attendance, and an analysis of the association between satisfaction, professionals, self-perception, service used, and schooling level was performed, using the chi-square test. The level of significance adopted was 5%. Results: the sample was composed mainly of women (66.2%), 18 to 28 years old (46.5%), of socioeconomic class D (51.3%), having finished high school (56.76%), and employed as an office assistant or typist (90%), 63.5% self-declared as deaf, 51.3% were bilingual, and 54.4% were not satisfied with the medical care. There was a statistically significant difference between the level of satisfaction of the volunteers with the health care received in relation to the different health professionals who attended them (p< 0.05). Conclusion: most of the population was not satisfied with medical care, although this service was most sought. The type of communication used by the professionals and the presence of an interpreter were not effective. It is necessary to implement strategies to ensure accessibility and comprehensive careto this population.