title: Psychiatric care of deaf patients in the general hospital: an overview.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While the number of Deaf and hard-of-hearing patients worldwide is estimated at six hundred million, few specialized psychiatric services or training resources exist to support the provision of mental health care to this population. This presents a particularly acute problem in the general hospital, where the consultant psychiatrist is likely to be confronted with the challenges of providing comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis and treatment to patients with whom he or she may have limited experience or confidence.
  
  
  METHODS
  We review critical considerations in the work-up, differential diagnosis, and management of commonly-presenting psychiatric disorders among Deaf patients in the general hospital setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA. Electronic address: chayab77@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chaya
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bhuvaneswar
authors.affiliation: Worcester Recovery Center, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (JM, TAS).
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Worcester Recovery Center, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA.
authors.forename: Bethany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (JM, TAS).
authors.forename: Theodore A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Stern
mesh_terms: D003638:Deafness / Q000150:complications*; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*