Hello,

My name is Brianna Doyle, and I am working with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) as well as the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) this summer. I have created a study that is designed to understand the difficulties Deaf ASL users experience when accessing their healthcare. I have been interested in Deaf culture and Deaf rights since I took my first sign language class in the Fall of 2014. During my time in high school, I took 4 years of American Sign Language (ASL), and I was a teaching assistant for a beginner ASL class during my senior year. One of my best friends is deaf and she has a cochlear implant. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity of tutoring a deaf boy at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children during my senior year as well. These various experiences taught me the importance of D/deaf culture and American Sign Language. Because of these experiences, my love and appreciation for the D/deaf community has grown.
My study is currently being reviewed by the IRB. This study will be a virtual study where participants would join a Zoom focus group (captioning and an interpreter will be present at all times) to share their experiences with health care workers. Participants will also be asked to give their recommendations for health care workers, so that a training program can be designed for workers to be trained on Deaf culture, interpreting services, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more. Identities of participants will not be revealed since I will be using a numbering system. Participants must be 18 years and older. If you could please share this study and my contact information with Deaf Texans whose primary form of communication is ASL, I would greatly appreciate that. Please feel free to contact me at Briannadoyle00@yahoo.com for any questions or concerns you may have.

Submitter Email: Briannadoyle00@yahoo.com