Accessibility of day-night emergency alert systems for Deaf and hard-of-hearing adults during armed conflict.
People with disabilities, including Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals, face disproportionate disaster risks due to communication barriers. Emergency alert systems are predominantly auditory-based, limiting their effectiveness for DHH populations. This gap is especially critical during armed conflict, where timely alerts can be life-saving.
This study examined emergency alert system accessibility and associated psychological distress among DHH adults during active armed conflict.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Israel (October-November 2023) during the early phase of the Israel-Hamas War among DHH adults (N = 167), assessing daytime and nighttime alert accessibility and psychological distress. Analyses included McNemar's test, repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction, independent-samples t-tests, and one- and two-way ANOVA. Effect sizes were reported throughout.
Participants included 87 Deaf (52.1%), 73 hard-of-hearing (43.7%), and 7 (4.2%) identifying as "other," with a mean age of 55.3 years (SD = 16.4). While 69.5% received alerts via the national application during daytime, only 32.3% did so at night, indicating a substantial nighttime accessibility gap. Alert accessibility was only partially associated with psychological distress. Women reported significantly higher distress than men (p < .019). No significant differences emerged between Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants in alert use or distress levels. Education level did not predict alert accessibility, suggesting structural rather than user-dependent barriers.
DHH individuals face systematic barriers to accessing emergency alerts, particularly at night. Equitable disaster preparedness requires multimodal systems incorporating visual, vibration, and text-based channels. Culturally accessible mental health support should be integrated into emergency response protocols.
This study examined emergency alert system accessibility and associated psychological distress among DHH adults during active armed conflict.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Israel (October-November 2023) during the early phase of the Israel-Hamas War among DHH adults (N = 167), assessing daytime and nighttime alert accessibility and psychological distress. Analyses included McNemar's test, repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction, independent-samples t-tests, and one- and two-way ANOVA. Effect sizes were reported throughout.
Participants included 87 Deaf (52.1%), 73 hard-of-hearing (43.7%), and 7 (4.2%) identifying as "other," with a mean age of 55.3 years (SD = 16.4). While 69.5% received alerts via the national application during daytime, only 32.3% did so at night, indicating a substantial nighttime accessibility gap. Alert accessibility was only partially associated with psychological distress. Women reported significantly higher distress than men (p < .019). No significant differences emerged between Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants in alert use or distress levels. Education level did not predict alert accessibility, suggesting structural rather than user-dependent barriers.
DHH individuals face systematic barriers to accessing emergency alerts, particularly at night. Equitable disaster preparedness requires multimodal systems incorporating visual, vibration, and text-based channels. Culturally accessible mental health support should be integrated into emergency response protocols.
Authors
Tannenbaum-Baruchi Tannenbaum-Baruchi, Kandell Kandell, Davidovitch Davidovitch, Shapira Shapira
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