Telephone ownership and deaf people: Implications for telephone surveys

Objectives. This study was done to determine the prevalence of telephone ownership in different deaf populations and to explore its implications for telephone-based surveys. Methods. Multivariate analyses, with adjustments for sociodemographics and health status, were done of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 1990 and 1991, the years in which the NHIS Hearing Supplement was administered. Results. Prelingually deafened adults were less likely than members of the general population to own a telephone (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15, 0.82), whereas postlingually deafened adults were as likely as members of the general population to own one (AOR = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.78, 1.28). Conclusions. Telephone surveys risk marginalizing prelingually deafened adults because of low telephone ownership and language barriers between the deaf and hearing communities.