In partnership with BID Services, Sarah Bown, Senior Lecturer in Interpreting and Deaf Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, has been undertaking a research study focusing on the menopause as experienced by Deaf and hard of hearing women.
As part of this project, between 2018 and 2019, workshops relating to this topic were held in Birmingham and Solihull. During these occasions, participants were asked to answer surveys*, which indicated a greater need for accessible information and support made available to Deaf women going through menopause.
“60% of Deaf women are not informed enough about the menopause.”
Birmingham and Solihull Survey results
See the findings of this project’s initial surveys in the infographic below:
Although very little NHS information about menopause is currently available in BSL, there are some useful alternative resources for Deaf and hard of hearing women. The Newson Health Centre for Menopause & Wellbeing, for instance, provides a collection of 18 short videos with BSL interpretation on a range of menopause related topics.
If you wish to learn more about this project’s developments or enquire about collaborative working opportunities, please contact Sarah Bown at: s.bown@wlv.ac.uk.
*surveys were also conducted in Durham, Leeds and Milton Keynes.
