Inclusive Health Communication in Specialist Disability Accommodation
Centre of Excellence – Deafblind (CoE – DB)
Partners: Deakin Universtiy
Overview:
This project is analysing how residents living in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) access health information – specifically in relation to communicable diseases such as COVID-19.The project also aims to identify any challenges or improvements to information accessibility that could be made in group homes.
There are three data collection phases involved in the project:
1. Staff interviews: These include interviews with residents and SDA support workers to establish current practice concerns.
2. Virtual house tours: For each SDA, a member of staff familiar with the environment (e.g. a support worker or house manager) will complete a guided tour of the accommodation via video with researchers. This will observe resident and support workers engagement with COVID-19 public health information, and the communication strategies used to relay this information to residents.
3. Delphi study: A modified e-Delphi study with a sample of key stakeholders, including representatives from SDA service providers and relevant consumer advocacy organisations, to establish a consensus around key communication priorities and recommended practices.
