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PRESS RELEASE

Statistics Institute releases first results on the Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community in Puerto Rico

84% of totally deaf people surveyed who needed public safety services and 75% of those who needed services in government agencies faced barriers

July 21, 2022: The executive director of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), Dr. Orville M. Disdier, presented the first results of the Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community in Puerto Rico, through an interactive digital report. This new product, called “Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community: Interactive Report”, presents the first results of the Population Survey that the Institute conducted, both to deaf and partially deaf people, and to the general public. In addition, the interactive report presents the results of focus group interviews with teachers of students with hearing difficulties. The platform presents, for both deaf and partially deaf people, data and statistics on socio-demographic aspects, on the difficulties presented when requesting services, both governmental and non-governmental, on the communication methods used by this community and on the difficulties in accessing information offered by various means of communication, among other findings.

“The data and statistics presented in this interactive report serve as an empirical basis to justify various initiatives and the development of new public policies that promote quality services and better integration of deaf people into the rest of society, while promoting equity and social justice,” said Dr. Disdier.

Some of the most relevant results of the Deaf Community Needs Study:

• 9% of all respondents indicated that they were completely deaf.
• 14% of all respondents indicated that they are partially deaf.
• 62% of the totally deaf people who participated in the survey were deaf at birth, while the remaining 38% became deaf sometime after their birth.
• 66% of the partially deaf who participated in the survey have a level of severe or profound deafness.
• 86% of the totally deaf people surveyed said they often feel discriminated against (41% very often and 45% sometimes). On the other hand, 68% of the partially deaf people surveyed said they often feel discriminated against (20% very often and 48% sometimes).
• 84% of the totally deaf people surveyed, who needed public safety services, faced barriers.
• 75% of the totally deaf people surveyed, who needed services from government agencies, faced barriers.
• On the other hand, 53% of the partially deaf people surveyed, who needed services from government agencies, faced barriers.
• Other places where the totally deaf people surveyed mentioned that they have faced difficulty receiving services, integrating or participating, are:
  • Hospitals (55%)
  • Medical offices (46%)
  • Restaurants (42%)
  • Banks or cooperatives (42%)
  • Place of employment (34%)
  • Cinema or theater (28%)
  • Supermarkets (24%)
  • Concerts or festivals (22%)
  • Gas stations (22%)
• The communication methods used by the totally deaf people surveyed are:
  • Lip reading (83%)
  • ASL signs (64%)
  • Writing (65%)
  • Verbal (59%)
  • Creole signs (56%)
  • Interpreter (45%)
  • Non-formal signs (26%)
• On the other hand, the communication methods most used by partially deaf people surveyed are verbal (87%), lip reading (59%) and written (43%).
• 51% of the totally deaf people surveyed reported using one of the following headphone devices:
  • Behind the ear or behind the ear (64%)
  • CROS hearing aid — BI-CROS (14%)
  • In the ear — Intra shell (11%)
  • Cochlear implant (8%)
  • Open ear — miniature size (3%)
• 58% of partially deaf people surveyed reported using one of the following headphone devices:
  • Behind the ear or behind the ear (53%)
  • CROS hearing aid — BI-CROS (26%)
  • In the channel — Intracanal (11%)
  • In the ear — Intra shell (5%)
  • Other (6%)
• 10% of all respondents indicated that they are hearing people (who are not deaf or partially deaf) but who live with a deaf person.
• 43% of the listeners surveyed, who live with a deaf person, have not taken sign language courses.
• On the other hand, 42% of all respondents indicated that they are hearing people (who are not deaf or partially deaf) but who know a deaf person.
• 25% of all respondents indicated that they are hearing people (who are not deaf or partially deaf) who do not live with a deaf person and who do not know a deaf person.
• In general terms, the educators who participated in the focus groups agreed that there are not many materials adapted for deaf students, so sometimes the teachers themselves have to modify the materials.

In the same way, the educators who participated in the focus groups agreed that in general, parents and/or guardians are not given the necessary support at the time the child is diagnosed. Dr. Disdier explained that the final sample of the survey consisted of 739 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in Puerto Rico, and it was accessible for more than sixty (60) days. A total of 21 educators were part of several focus groups, in which in-depth conversations were held about the needs of deaf students. In this regard, Dr. Disdier argued that “The data collected by educators of deaf students alert us that, like deaf adults, deaf children and adolescents also face challenges and needs, and that these challenges and needs are different and require actions adapted to that demographic sector.”

For his part, Manuel Mangual, Evaluation Specialist, who managed the study, explained that there are still some survey questions that are being processed and whose data will eventually be added to the interactive report. Likewise, in the coming weeks, additional focus group interviews will be conducted, whose results will also be included in the report, expanding and strengthening it. “Working on this project, for the benefit of deaf and partially deaf people, has been a lot of learning, enthusiasm and pride. The study participants gave us the confidence to be part of one voice when it came to their needs. During the next phases, we will continue to produce information aimed at promoting a more inclusive society,” emphasized Mangual.

The Study of the Needs of the Deaf Community: Interactive Report, resides on the website of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and can be accessed at any time by interested parties at the following e-mail address: Outcomes and Needs Deaf Community.

For technical questions about this report, you can send an email to: preguntas@estadisticas.pr.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook accounts (@statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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PRESS RELEASE

DR. MARIO MARAZZI-SANTIAGO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

INSTITUTE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN PLANNING BOARD STATISTICS

The decision makes it easier for the Planning Board to comply with the methodological changes

required for Puerto Rico's economy to be included in that of the United States

San Juan, PR, July 6, 2018 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) announced today that its Board of Directors recently approved continuing to financially support the work of the Roadmap for the Modernization of Puerto Rico's Economic Accounts, work plan agreed between the Planning Board (JP) and the Institute for necessary improvements to Puerto Rico's macroeconomic accounting methodologies.

East Roadmap includes the need to invest in the information systems used by JP to prepare Puerto Rico's economic accounting statistics. In fact, the Institute has been investing in these systems for more than a year. Specifically, in 2016 it was entrusted to the company Wovenware the migration of information systems from a technology based on Oracle products to one based on Microsoft SQL. This is because Oracle discontinued technological support for Softwares that JP uses, which caused processing problems in that agency.

The recent decision, for example, extends this agreement to the next fiscal year, during which it is expected that Wovenware complete final phases 3 and 4 for which the Institute will be investing more than $300,000. The project, which began in 2016 and is expected to end in 2019, will allow the database to be updated automatically, duplicate data to be eliminated and processes to be improved as well as the accessibility of JP statistics.

“As part of our mission to objectively support public administration, the Institute's Board of Directors has done its part to continue the necessary improvements in government, at times of great uncertainty. It is also a project supported by the employees of the JP and the President of the JP that will allow this agency to evolve and for which we are investing more than 10% of the Institute's budget,” said the executive director of the Institute, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago.

“It is worth noting that this project implements some of the methodological changes adopted by the Institute's Board of Directors in the Resolution No. 2014-02, so that Puerto Rico's national accounts are more reliable, comparable and quickly and universally accessible. At the same time, we are complying with the federal government's requirements for Puerto Rico's economy to be included in the statistics of the United States economy,” added Dr. Marazzi-Santiago.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), entitled Puerto Rico: Limited Federal Data Hinder Analysis of Economic Condition and Dol's 2016 Overtime Rule, found that the lack of federal data on Puerto Rico's economy had made it difficult to analyze the impact of a labor standard proposed by former President of the United States, Barack Obama, on overtime pay for certain types of jobs.

“For statistics on the Puerto Rico economy to be included in those of the United States economy, the Government of Puerto Rico must do its part as well. Since 2011, the federal Government has written down the methodological changes that need to be made to the Planning Board. It is important that this agenda be continued. The Institute's Board of Directors has done its part, because it has the expertise, professionalism, seriousness and independence of judgment that are necessary to understand that this is an agenda that is too important to be derailed,” said Dr. Marazzi-Santiago.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through https://estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through https://data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: https://www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the State Data Center (SDC) of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (https://www.facebook.com/estadisticas.pr), Twitter (https://twitter.com/estadisticaspr) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/instituto-de-estadisticas-de-puerto-rico).

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes (787) 688-0401

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