II. Meeting Summary

Welcome and Background

James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Director, NIDCD, in his welcome to the working group, noted the problem of providing informed consent for persons who use different means of communication. NIDCD thought it was important that scientists learn more about how to deliver informed consent to persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and how to assess whether or not the message has been received and understood. In the meeting, NIDCD was seeking the advice of the working group and others present to provide guidance to the research and clinical community on how best to communicate informed consent to people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The working group recommendations will be widely disseminated using the NIDCD Web Page and other channels.

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