Experiences of health care workers regarding maintenance of confidentiality concerning hearing challenged people in selected public health settings in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

Background Communication between a health care provider and a patient is a pre-requisite for any intervention to occur in the process of health care. Deaf patients depend on interpreters when seeking health care. Confidentiality is an issue since interpreters are involved in the Deaf community. Health care workers (HCWs) are tasked to ensure that the delivery of information to the patient is accurate and kept confidential. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of HCWs regarding maintenance of confidentiality concerning hearing challenged people in selected public health settings in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Methodology A descriptive exploratory qualitative design was used in this study. The study population comprised health care workers who worked with hearing challenged patients. Purposive sampling, which is a type of non-probability sampling, was used to select the study participants from the population. Structured interviews, using an interview schedule, were used to collect data. Data was collected until data saturation was reached. Data was analysed using Tesch’s eight steps of thematic analysis. Findings Six major themes that emerged from the data analysis were (a) training of health care workers, (b) communication preferences for hard of hearing patients, (c) communication challenges, (d) health care worker-patient relationship, (e) involvement of family members as interpreters and (f) measures to maintain confidentiality. The findings revealed that the majority of participants experienced communication challenges with patients who are hard of hearing since only few HCWs are trained in sign language. Conclusion The findings of this study will contribute to addressing issues related to the maintenance of confidentiality of hard of hearing patients. This study does not claim to exhaust the subject but to raise awareness of new investigations in other realities. Further research in the larger representative population of HCWs and hard of hearing patients is necessary to make the health care system more accessible and communication with HCWs more satisfying and effective. A doctoral study is necessary to develop a practice framework to facilitate communication between hard of hearing patients and HCWs.