Objectives. This study was done to determine the prevalence of telephone ow
nership in different deaf populations and to explore its implications for t
elephone-based surveys.
Methods. Multivariate analyses, with adjustments for sociodemographics and
health status, were done of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data fr
om 1990 and 1991, the years in which the NHIS Hearing Supplement was admini
stered.
Results. Prelingually deafened adults were less likely than members of the
general population to own a telephone (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.35; 95
% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15, 0.82), whereas postlingually deafened ad
ults were as likely as members of the general population to own one (AOR =
1.00; 95% CI = 0.78, 1.28).
Conclusions. Telephone surveys risk marginalizing prelingually deafened adu
lts because of low telephone ownership and language barriers between the de
af and hearing communities.