Speaking Up for the Bangladeshi Community

1
Speaking Up for the Bangladeshi Community in
Tower Hamlets Joyce Grandison Parveen
Quader Womens Health Family Services
Background In 1993 the workers at Womens Health
Family Services began to see a greater number
of children with hearing difficulties in the
Bangladeshi community than in the rest of the
population. A retrospective study at the Donald
Winnicot Centre found that the hearing impairment
was three times greater in this community than
the national average. Non-attendance at Audiology
clinics was higher for Bangladeshi children. The
Project was initially funded for three years by
the Kings Fund, City Parochial Foundation and
the Local Health Authority. In 1996 a Bengali
speaking development worker was employed by
Womens Health Family Services. Based at the
Donald Winnicott Centre, the Audiology department
also linked to Great Ormond Street Aims The aim
of the project was to improve the attendance of
Bangladeshi children, to help communication
between professionals and families, to improve
Audiology service provision, and to promote
better understanding of hearing impairment and
its early detection. Barriers Culture, religion,
poverty, resistance and denial all combine to
prevent families taking their children to clinics
for testing when deafness is suspected. The link
worker works with these barriers and offers
support to the families. She raises awareness in
the community, speaking in schools and provides
support at a signing class for parents of deaf
children. Successes A number of factors have
contributed to the success of the link worker.
She is accepted as a friend and advocate by the
community and is valued and respected by her
medical colleagues. She acts as an intermediate
between the professionals and families and often
also between the English speaking husband and the
Bengali speaking wife during consultations.
Results This project has enabled
Bangladeshi families to understand the issues and
access services, DNA rates have decreased more in
this population than in the rest of the
community. Attitudes to deafness are beginning to
change and there is awareness of the risk of
congenital abnormalities through cousin
marriages. The Project provides a good model for
work with other communities and other diseases.

• Impact
• Contact has been made with up to 80 of parents
  of children with appointments.
• Non- attendance of those contacted has dropped
  to between 6 12.
• This compares to non-attendance of
  non-Bangladeshi children of at least 30.
• Greater awareness of hearing impairment.
• Parents are more aware of possibility of a child
  being born with hearing impairment.

• Greater awareness of the importance of early
  tests/checks on hearing.
• Parents who are not able to attend can have
  another appointment arranged.
• Better information on cancellations leading to
  better use of clinical time.
• Audiology staff have found that parents are more
  involved in the consultation.
• Parents are able to ask more questions during
  consultation.
• Parents have opportunities to obtain information
  or seek assurance both before and after the
  appointment.
• Quotes
• I cant speak English and I have never used the
  audiology services before so I didnt know what
  to expect. I have a deaf child in my family and I
  need all the support I get from WHFS. I dont
  know how Bengali families would be able to
  communicate without this service.