HAMAD Project : DEAFvibe Event
Healthier And More Active Deaf People’s Project is hosted in Bradwell Lodge, Newcastle under Lyme
The first of a series of events of Healthy And More Active Deaf (HAMAD) project events took place at DEAFvibe, Bradwell Lodge, Newcastle under Lyme on Saturday 9th April 2016. About 50 attendees of all ages attended the event.
The HAMAD Project is a very useful project as being Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind can be a major barrier to access to information presented orally or in most cases complicated written English language can be very difficult for Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind people to understand. This could led to major health issues where health and being active is concerned.
In a study looking into ‘The current health of the signing Deaf community in the UK compared with the general population: a cross-sectional study looking into reported in the British Medical Journal (2015), it was found that the ‘Rates of obesity in the Deaf sample were high, especially in those over 65 years, and 48% were in a high risk group for serious illness and concluded that ‘Deaf people’s health is poorer than that of the general population, with probable underdiagnosis and undertreatment of chronic conditions putting them at risk of preventable ill health’
The HAMAD project makes available advice, information and support to Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind people available in British Sign Language and presented by profoundly deaf HAMAD team members. Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind participants, their family and friends will then gain access to information on healthier lifestyles, become more active and therefore achieve improved general wellbeing. By gaining this information in British Sign Language that is normally difficult to access by Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind people, the participants will then be able to spread the information within the wider deaf community. This will give Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind people the confidence to go on and lead a more fulfilling, active and healthier lifestyle.
Project Leader Brian Kokoruwe commented “Having retired from representing Great Britain Athletics Team and having coached and managed the Great Britain Deaflympics Athletics Team, I am happy about leading this project. I hope that it will make a big difference to the wider deaf community, to their family and friends. This is a very worthwhile project to be involved in.”
A participant commented “Wow, I did not know that Sodium is another word for salt and thought where salt was not included in the food label, the product was salt free!”
Over 50 participants attended the first event at the Bradwell Lodge. Further events are planned to be held at Deaflinks-Staffordshire Based in Shelton.