Overcoming barriers to the involvement of deafblind people in conversations about research: recommendations from individuals with Usher syndrome

Andrew Skilton; Emma Boswell; Kevin Prince; Priya Francome-Wood; Mariya Moosajee

doi:10.1186/s40900-018-0124-0

Table 3 Checklist of recommendations for the inclusion of people with deafblindness in a discussion group

From: Overcoming barriers to the involvement of deafblind people in conversations about research: recommendations from individuals with Usher syndrome

Considerations	Recommendations	Check
Room	Large, quiet space with a flexible layout (i.e. not fixed tables and seating) and can accommodate more people than anticipated and with access to an outside area
Lighting	Room provides control over levels of light, both natural (e.g. windows have blinds) and artificial (e.g. dimmer switch or the ability turn off groups of lights around the room) sources
Agenda	Agenda is broken down into 20 to 30-min sessions with 10 to 20-min breaks in between
Documents	Printed materials are in large print (18 point and above), sans-serif fonts (e.g. Arial) and high contrast (e.g. black text on a yellow background) or in braille formats as required
Documents	Documents have been sent out in advance; either printed or in a screen reader / text-to-speech friendly format (e.g. not PDF)
Interpreting/lipspeaking	Attendees have confirmed if they will be providing their own interpreters; if so, attendee/interpreters have confirmed any requirements for interpretation
	If you are required to provide interpreters:
	Interpreting needs of attendees have been confirmed (e.g. British Sign Language, hands-on signing, lipspeaking etc.)
	At least two interpreters (to allow interpreters to alternate and to have a break) have been identified, and both are NRCPD registered
	Interpreters have experience working with individuals who are deafblind
	Interpreters have experience working with scientific content (e.g. health, biomedical research etc.)
	Relevant materials relating to the content of the meeting, have been sent in advance to interpreters
Audio communication tools	Room is fitted with an audio induction loop
	Speech to text (e.g. captioner, palantypist) is available for those who cannot use the available sign language options
	There is sufficient easy access to power points for people’s accessibility aids (e.g. smartphones, tablets, e-readers, laptops etc.)
Emotional wellbeing	Relevant information on/access to patient organisations, peer-to-peer support; counselling is available
Emotional wellbeing	Skilled/trained and sensitive facilitator

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