ss the communities widely recognized as experiencing health disparities,1-9 UCSD also explored DHHE-related literature. Like other minority communities, the DHHC has a unique language (ASL) and culture (Deaf culture) that set it apart from the mainstream community, creating barriers to health information and care comparable to those experienced by other medically underserved minority groups10. Considerable evidence in the literature suggests that the health-information needs of the DHHC have not been well served.11-24 In 1997, the Director of the UCSD Cancer Center's Outreach Program (Sadler - PI) met with Leslie Elion, J.D., the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Deaf Community Services of San Diego, Inc. (DCS), who confirmed the literature's findings and accepted the invitation to partner with UCSD to define and reduce these disparities, thereby launching this long-term partnership.
Key elements of the partnership's early success were the strong trust that the organizations' leaders quickly established, their consistent and open communication, their focus on the good of the community rather than merely the partnering organizations, and the rapport the collaborators. The organizations established a balance of leadership power, with the leaders taking responsibility for activities related to their organizations' respective areas of strength. Equally important, a strong advisory group was formed. Key stakeholders in both organizations were kept informed of the partnership's progress to assure a strong supportive network and universal enthusiasm for the partnership's success.
To ensure that the local partnership could access stellar program guidance, it recruited a nationally recognized Deaf community education partner, Gallaudet University, as well as the UCSD's Department of Communication, which has a record of advancing the well-being of the DHHC. The partnership focused on inclusiveness rather then exclusiveness. As a result, th...