title: [Assistive Services in the Workplace of People with Hearing Impairment in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assistive services in the workplace are an important aspect of the participation of people with hearing impairment in working life. This article presents the results of the GINKO study and an survey conducted by the University of Cologne on behalf of the MAIS in order to provide a comprehensive examination of the employment situation of hearing impaired people in North Rhine-Westphalia. The GINKO study examines the impact of laws on the integration of hard-of-hearing and deaf people as well as people who have become deaf as adults, focusing on communication and organizations; this project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS).
  
  
  METHODS
  In the GINKO study, conducted in cooperation with the German Association of the Hard of Hearing and the German Association of the Deaf, a standardised questionnaire with questions about the workplace was administered to employed people with hearing impairments. The questionnaire was administered on paper and was also available online accompanied by sign language videos. The University of Cologne study in North Rhine-Westphalia examined the service situation of hard-of-hearing, deaf and deaf-blind people through face-to-face interviews and government statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of the nationwide GINKO study show that hearing-impaired people in North Rhine-Westphalia draw on assistive services in employment more often than hearing-impaired people in the rest of Germany. The study found statistically significant differences in the categories of "maintenance and development of professional knowledge and skills" and "psychosocial support in conflict situations resulting from disability".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One reason for the more positive evaluations of the participants in North Rhine-Westphalia as compared to other regions in Germany could be the particular network of support services in that state. However, the overall positive results from North Rhine-Westphalia should not obscure the fact that a majority of participants in many areas of North Rhine-Westphalia reported much less positive evaluations. They reported that they did not (yet) have an accessible workplace and that assistive services are not available to all hearing impaired workers.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Gesundheits- und Pflegewissenschaften, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität zu Köln, Köln.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Menzel
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rehapädagogik, Sprachbehindertenpädagogik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität zu Köln, Köln.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niehaus
authors.affiliation: Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität zu Köln, Köln.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaul
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rehapädagogik, Sprachbehindertenpädagogik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schlenker-Schulte
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015995:Prevalence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014600:Utilization Review; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult