Family counseling in the Netherlands for Turkish-origin parents of deaf children with a cochlear implant

Cultural elements such as language, beliefs about health, and family context play important roles in the uptake of rehabilitation and treatment of deafness. Because of cultural issues, minority groups often do not receive optimal care. Focusing on the Netherlands, the researchers explored how the rehabilitation and counseling of deaf children of Turkish-origin parents can be improved. The most important findings were that (a) most parents initially did not believe their child was deaf and regretted later that they did not start hearing rehabilitation earlier; (b) parents had little confidence in the Dutch health care system and sought a second opinion from a medical doctor of their own national origin; (c) parents did not know how to be actively involved in the care of their deaf child. Implications for practice aimed at improving rehabilitation and counseling for these children are described.