BID tells us about their new service as they launch a Menopause Information Library for the Deaf Community (BSL)

The menopause can be a very complicated, emotional and isolating time in someone’s life. Whilst the menopause is increasingly being discussed on television, in the press and even in workplaces, there can be a lot of confusion about what the menopause actually is, what symptoms someone may experience and how to manage them.

Here at BID Services we have identified through research conducted by the University of Wolverhampton, that D/deaf and hard of hearing women can lack access to information and support around the menopause, for example, information presented in British Sign Language (BSL).

Since the summer of 2023, BID Services have been working in partnership with My Menopause Centre to increase awareness and understanding of the menopause, symptoms and treatment amongst Birmingham’s D/deaf and hard of hearing community.

Through this project we ran 7 workshops for Birmingham’s D/deaf and hard of hearing community raising awareness of key topics related to the menopause from understanding the menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to how food and exercise can help you manage menopause symptoms, as well as loss of libido and contraception.

All workshops were delivered in English by a specialist menopause doctor from My Menopause Centre, with BSL interpreters.

The workshops have now come to an end, but for those unable to join in person, we recorded the workshops and created a suite of accessible digital menopause resources, with BSL, audio and subtitled videos. These can be found in our information library.

Adding to these, we also created videos answering commonly asked questions about the menopause and videos explaining the many different terms people will come across when they start their menopause journey.

Each video was developed in collaboration with the Deaf community, our partners My Menopause Centre, bringing their medical expertise, our BSL interpreters and Sarah Bown and Kristiaan Dekesel, specialists in Interpreting and Deaf Studies from the University of Wolverhampton.

Debbie Lang, Sensory Services Manager, BID Services, explained:

“Many women told us that when they were given medical leaflets and websites to look at, they reported difficulty in understanding them. By creating these resources in collaboration with the Deaf community, D/deaf women have told us they will help empower them to have these conversations and will improve their health outcomes by increasing understanding around the menopause and bringing together commonly used signs and their meanings.”

We hope that these resources will not only prove invaluable for the Deaf community across the UK but that they will also benefit BSL interpreters when working on menopause related assignments. These resources will also support health professionals, increasing awareness of how to provide appropriate information in a way which is accessible for the individual they are working with.

BID Services and My Menopause Centre also partnered with Holland & Barrett to help develop and promote these resources and to raise awareness of the need for accessible support and information around the menopause for those who are D/deaf or hard of hearing.

Through this collaboration we hope to break down barriers, enabling health equity with improved access to health information and services.

This project started following a research proposal by Sarah Bown from the University of Wolverhampton, undertaken in 2018/19, across the region and further afield which BID Services helped facilitate.

The research highlighted the lack of accessible support and information around the menopause available to D/deaf women with only around 7% reporting access to information in BSL and 60% not being informed enough about the menopause.

BID Services would like to thank to the Deaf community of Birmingham, My Menopause Centre, the wonderful BSL interpreters, the University of Wolverhampton and Holland & Barrett for their help in delivering this project, developing theaccessible Menopause resources, and raising awareness of this important topic.

You can view the menopause resources here. 

To view the full article about this project (BSL translation included) and the research from the University of Wolverhampton please visit:

https://www.bid.org.uk/menopause-information-library-for-the-deaf-community/

BID Services is a charity which works to remove barriers and deliver services which enable and empower those who are D/deaf, hard of hearing, sight impaired, deafblind or have other disabilities to live full lives.