IANET Taskforce Guidelines

Communicating about Health Care with People Who Have Disabilities

Communication -- the exchange of information -- is the foundation of good health care. You have important information to share when you talk with your patients, as well as in your brochures, presentations, newsletters, and web pages. When the information you provide is easily understood, the chances for a good outcome increase.

One of every 5 Iowans has a disability, and disabilities often affect how a person "exchanges information." This is true whether the disability is temporary or ongoing, visible or invisible. It is true whether the disability is caused by a congenital disorder, illness, injury, or aging. These IANet Communication Guidelines can help you communicate more effectively with people who have disabilities -- and with others, as well.

The IANet Communication Guidelines offer basic strategies for:

1. Communicating with people who have a range of disabilities.
2. Communicating with people who have cognitive disorders or mental retardation.
3. Communicating with people who have hearing impairments.
4. Communicating with people who have muscle disorders.
5. Communicating with people who have vision impairments.
6. Developing web sites that are accessible and user-friendly.

The guidelines also provide information about how to locate such resources as sign language interpreters, materials in Braille and other formats, and Relay Iowa.

Download and print the complete Guidelines document.  

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Healthy Iowans 2010 and the IANet Task Force

Healthy Iowans 2010 is Iowa's plan for improving the health and quality of life for Iowans in the first decade of the 21^st century. One of the activities in "Chapter Four: Disabilities" calls for the creation of an IANet Task Force to improve health care communication for people with disabilities. To accomplish this, the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Prevention of Disabilities Policy Council brought together representatives, including people with disabilities, from a wide range of organizations that serve people with disabilities.

IANet Task Force members believe:

• Good communication is a key component of good health care, and can improve outcomes for people with and without disabilities.
• People with disabilities are the experts when it comes to their own health. Unless they have asked someone else to manage their health care, they want to do this themselves.
• Like any other health care consumer, people with disabilities need good information on which to base decisions.

Planning ahead

These guidelines can help you communicate more effectively with the people you serve. Planning for more effective communication is one of the accommodations your office can provide to serve all your patients better. This planning is an important component of office policies and procedures. It needs to be included in orientation for new staff, and in yearly staff development activities as well.

For example, office staff who schedule appointments or process event registrations should routinely ask if a person has any special needs or requires specific accommodations, such as the services of a translator. Asking early, when an appointment is made or a registration is received, makes it easier to arrange these accommodations. Information about accommodation resources, such as interpreters and Braille materials, is provided in these guidelines.

Additional resources are available from:

• Iowa Commission of Persons with Disabilities
  515-242-6334
  www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/pd/index.html
• Iowa Deaf Services Commission
  800-735-2943
• Iowa Department for the Blind
  800-362-2587 or 515-281-1333
  www.blind.state.ia.us

These guidelines were developed by the IANet Task Force to fulfill the requirements of Chapter 4 of Healthy Iowans 2010.

For more information call (515) 242-6336, or use the "Contact Us" page.