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A Swedish prevalence study of deaf people using sign language: a prerequisite for deaf studies

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Author

Summary, in English

A widely used estimate claims that one per thousand individuals is deaf, but few recent studies exist on the actual prevalence. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of deaf people, defined as deaf individuals who use sign language as their main mode of communication, in the county of Scania, Sweden. To achieve high validity, data were collected from a large variety of sources including both public institutions and voluntary associations, working with deaf people. The study demonstrates a prevalence of 0.7 per thousand inhabitants, a figure considerably lower than the traditional estimate. One interpretation of this finding is that the prevalence of deafness is on the decrease. Another interpretation reflects the problem to define deafness. As prevalence figures vary with the definition used, one single estimate valid for the prevalence of deafness is not possible to make. We therefore question the traditional one-per-thousand estimate of deafness.

Publishing year

2003

Language

English

Pages

311-324

Publication/Series

Disability & Society

Volume

18

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Occupational Therapy

Status

Published

Project

  • Quality of life among older deaf sign language users

Research group

  • Sustainable occupations and health in a life course perspective

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0968-7599