[Employed with a hearing impairment in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia : Regional results of the GINKO study].
BACKGROUND
Hearing impairments and hearing loss cause deficits in communication ability and represent relevant participation restrictions according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). In order to counteract these participation restrictions, particularly in the workplace, several acts have been passed in Germany including SGB IX and UN-BRK.


OBJECTIVE
The implementation of these laws in the federal states Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia is presented from the perspective of hearing-impaired employees.


METHODS
In the GINKO study, conducted in cooperation with self-help organizations, a standardized written questionnaire with items about the workplace was administered to employed persons with hearing impairments. The questionnaire was also available online with sign language. Overall, 3189 severely disabled hearing-impaired working persons responded to the GINKO survey, of whom n = 260 (8.3 %) were from Saxony, n = 53 (1.7 %) from Saxony-Anhalt, and n = 62 (1.9 %) from Thuringia.


RESULTS
The majority of participants reported that they did not (yet) have an accessible workplace and that assistive services were not available to all hearing-impaired employees. This was true overall and in the three individual states. There are still considerable deficits in the implementation of legally required possibilities. No statistically significant differences exist between the three federal states in terms of utilization of legally required assistive services in the workplace or the accessibility of the workplace to hearing-impaired employees.


CONCLUSIONS
Causes for this might be found in insufficient information regarding legal possibilities available to hearing-impaired employees. Therefore, information about state-wide self-help organizations is important to encourage participation in working life in accordance with ICF after successful medical treatment.
Institut für Gesundheits- und Pflegewissenschaft, Medizinische Fakultät, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Straße 8, 06112, Halle, Deutschland. andreas.weber@medizin.uni-halle.de.
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Forschungsstelle zur Rehabilitation von Menschen mit kommunikativer Behinderung (FST) e. V., Halle, Deutschland.
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D000328:Adult; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; 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 / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
Assistive services in the workplace; Hearing impairment; Participation in the workplace