The University of Rochester’s groundbreaking research into Deaf community health will soon reach a national audience, thanks to renewed funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The five-year Prevention Research Center grant will allow the university’s National Center for Deaf Health Research (NCDHR) to roll out its successful Deaf Weight Wise program across the country.
Deaf Weight Wise is a 16-week healthy lifestyle initiative designed by Deaf researchers and Deaf community members. It promotes exercise, healthy eating, and Deaf-to-Deaf peer support to tackle weight-related health concerns, which are prevalent in Deaf communities.
In a clinical trial conducted in Rochester, 62% of Deaf Weight Wise participants achieved a clinically significant weight loss, compared to just 18% of Deaf sign language users in the control group.
“We’ve shown that this first-of-its-kind program works,” said Steven Barnett, MD, director of NCDHR. “Now, we want to make it available to Deaf communities across the country who could benefit from it. At the same time, we will study how to implement it with different communities—that have different levels of needs and resources—and how to make it sustainable.”
Until now, the program has been available only in Rochester, a city with one of the largest per capita Deaf populations in the U.S., and surrounding areas in Western and Central New York. With this new funding, NCDHR plans to partner with organizations nationwide to adapt Deaf Weight Wise to new communities.
“We’re really looking forward now to collaborating more nationwide—looking out to the nation and external networks to advise us on how to make this program work for them,” said Lori DeWindt, MA, a senior health project coordinator for the program. “Deaf Weight Wise is such an important program and we know there are a lot of people out there who could benefit from it.”
The approach will vary depending on each community’s resources. In some areas, NCDHR will train a local Deaf resident to serve as a Deaf Weight Wise counselor. In others, the program will be delivered remotely by existing Deaf counselors.
Nicole Coppini, a Deaf Weight Wise counselor, emphasized the value of culturally and linguistically accessible health programs. “This will impact so many Deaf communities,” Coppini said. “This is beneficial because Deaf Weight Wise is provided in our own language so we can understand it clearly. The communication access is there, and you have that support, too. It’s wonderful.”
As the program expands, NCDHR will analyze the challenges and successes encountered by each community. Their goal is to develop a comprehensive guide that can help establish long-term Deaf Weight Wise programs anywhere in the country.
“This is about providing tools for Deaf communities to improve their health on their own terms,” Barnett said.
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