A Culturally and Linguistically Specific Deaf Depression Screener

描述(申请人提供)：听力障碍/耳聋是美国最常见的感官障碍。据估计，美国有1100万人是聋人或重听人。据估计，大约有100万美国人使用美国手语(ASL)作为他们的主要交流手段，使其成为一个独特的语言少数民族。这项建议旨在通过在ASL中创建一个计算机化的、自我管理的抑郁症筛查来改善临床实践，该筛查在文化和语言上对聋人是可用的，以及 高危人群和传统上服务不足的人群。目前没有一种抑郁症筛查器被证明对大多数以ASL为主要交流方式的语言前期聋人有效。研究表明，与听力正常的人相比，聋人中抑郁的发生率更高。虽然美国预防服务工作组在2002年建议在初级保健临床环境中进行系统的抑郁症筛查，但聋人还没有例行公事地获得这项预防性服务。为初级保健医生提供一种在文化和语言上都是准确的、可以通过计算机自我管理并可以在iPad和iPhone上使用而不需要进一步开发的抑郁症筛查设备，可以极大地增加患有抑郁症的聋人得到适当诊断评估和治疗的机会，从而大大提高他们的生活质量。聋人抑郁筛查器还将通过提供一种有效的方法来估计初级保健中聋人的抑郁症患病率，从而提高科学知识，目前由于缺乏有效的筛查工具而无法做到这一点。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hearing impairment/deafness is the most common sensory limitation in the U.S. An estimated 11 million individuals in the US are deaf or hard-of-hearing. It has been estimated that approximately 1 million Americans use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary means of communication making it a distinct linguistic minority. This proposal seeks to improve clinical practice by creating a computerized, self-administered depression screener in ASL that is culturally and linguistically accessible to deaf individuals, an at-risk and traditionally underserved population. No current depression screeners have been shown to be valid for the majority of prelingually deaf persons who use ASL as their main communication mode. Studies have shown that depression occurs in higher rates among deaf persons than hearing persons. While the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended systematic screening for depression in primary care clinical settings in 2002, deaf persons have not yet routinely had access to this preventive service. Providing primary care physicians with a depression screener that is culturally and linguistically accurate and can be self-administered via computer and can be used on iPads and iPhones with no further development, can greatly increase the chance that deaf persons with depression will receive proper diagnostic assessment and treatment which can substantially improve their quality of life. The Deaf Depression Screener will also improve scientific knowledge by providing a valid method for estimating the prevalence of depression among deaf persons in primary care which cannot now be accomplished due to the lack of a valid screening instrument.