# Designing Deaf-MET: A Deaf-Accessible Pre-Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2022 · $155,667

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The U.S. Deaf community – more than 500,000 individuals with hearing loss who communicate using
American Sign Language (ASL) – experiences nearly triple the rate of lifetime problem drinking compared to
the general population. Yet, there are no evidence-based treatments that have been formally validated to treat
problem drinking or alcohol use disorder (AUD) among Deaf clients.
Available AUD treatments fail to meet Deaf clients’ unique linguistic and cultural needs. Deaf people’s median
English reading level falls at the fourth grade and many exhibit low health literacy. Therefore, written treatment
materials require plain text revisions, direct ASL translations, or ASL narrative storytelling. Equally critical is the
need to incorporate Deaf values and social norms, acknowledge Deaf people’s history of oppression, and
respect Deaf people’s identification as a cultural– not a disability – group. Limited awareness and resources
lead many hearing clinicians to perceive Deaf people as “disabled” or “impaired,” struggle to develop a
collaborative working relationship, and exclude Deaf people from important decisions about their own care.
To address these barriers, the proposed K23 study will leverage community-engaged intervention development
methods to design, pilot, and refine a culturally- and linguistically-accessible adaptation of Motivational
Enhancement Therapy (MET) for Deaf clients with AUD (Deaf-MET). MET is a brief pre-treatment that
combines Motivational Interviewing and the stages of change to increase a client’s motivation for actively
engaging in recovery. There is strong evidence of MET’s efficacy and a wide selection of evidence-based client
tools when used with hearing clients; however, MET fails to meet Deaf people’s linguistic and cultural needs.
Guided by the ENGAGED for CHANGE model, a multistep community-engaged process for developing
interventions to reduce health disparities, the candidate will design, pilot, and refine Deaf-MET by: (1)
assessing Deaf community needs, priorities, and assets via a series of four nationwide focus groups with Deaf
people with lived AUD experience and other key stakeholders; (2) in collaboration with a Deaf-engaged
intervention development team, developing a prototype Deaf-MET therapist manual and Deaf-accessible MET
treatment materials (e.g., visual handouts, ASL translations, ASL narratives, and/or adaptations to the MET
script); and, (3) conducting three pilot testing cycles of Deaf-MET with 24 Deaf adults, analyzing key aspects of
feasibility (e.g., recruitment, retention, satisfaction) and preliminary efficacy.
Results after each pilot testing cycle will be used to refine the Deaf-MET prototype prior to the next cycle.
Overall study findings will inform the design of a full-scale RCT of Deaf-MET and contribute to the development
of the first Deaf-accessible AUD pre-treatment. Additionally, the proposed aims will provide the candidate with
hands-on experience in commun...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10485263
- **Project number:** 5K23AA029466-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexander Monroe Wilkins
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $155,667
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10485263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10485263, Designing Deaf-MET: A Deaf-Accessible Pre-Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (5K23AA029466-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10485263. Licensed CC0.

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