{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T17:10:58Z","timestamp":1785431458972,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784678400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009157","name":"National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["90DPCP0012"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["90DPCP0012"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009157","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["90DPCP0012"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["90DPCP0012"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05r5c7c30","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ.","EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Deaf parents experience higher rates of healthcare barriers and adverse parenting outcomes compared with their hearing peers. This qualitative study explored the parenting experiences of Deaf parents to better understand barriers and facilitators to optimal parenting situations. Semi-structured, individual remote interviews were conducted with twenty Deaf parents in the United States who primarily communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) and have children aged 13 years old and under. Interviews examined experiences related to access to information and resources, relationships with healthcare providers, communication accessibility, and involvement with the educational system. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged: communication accessibility across parenting contexts, lack of accessible parenting-related information and services, family dynamics, and the role of assistive technologies in parenting. Participants reported that systemic barriers across healthcare, educational, and service systems create persistent communication challenges and delays, disempowering experiences, and contribute to a critical lack of resources designed for Deaf parents. These findings underscore the need for increased awareness and improved communication access for Deaf parents across healthcare, educational, and legal settings to support positive parenting experiences.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe16070106","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T09:20:39Z","timestamp":1784712039000},"page":"106","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["\u201cWe Don\u2019t Have Access to the Village\u201d: Barriers and Facilitators to Optimal Parenting Experiences Among Deaf Parents"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1392-4101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julie C.","family":"Mitchiner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC 20002, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2128-575X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tahleen A.","family":"Lattimer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gigi","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NTID Research Center on Culture and Language, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emma","family":"Kane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NTID Research Center on Culture and Language, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabrielle","family":"Majeri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NTID Research Center on Culture and Language, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christina","family":"Whetsel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jessica","family":"Contreras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Leadership, Research, and Policy, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5561-9885","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael M.","family":"McKee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5949-5920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter C.","family":"Hauser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NTID Research Center on Culture and Language, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"179","article-title":"Marital satisfaction in deaf couples: A review study","volume":"27","author":"Abedi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Auditory and Vestibular Research"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.1093\/deafed\/enad015","article-title":"Acculturative stress, mental health, and well-being among deaf adults","volume":"28","author":"Aldalur","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alhazmi, A. 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