A pioneering sign bank to express mental-health words has launched to support deaf people in Bangladesh where nearly 10% of the population is deaf or has hearing difficulties.
Monash University researchers collaborated with Bangladeshi sign language interpreters, people from the deaf community and mental healthcare professionals to develop the Digital Tools for Deaf Mental Health project.
The project features online resources called MindSigns designed to support the mental wellbeing of individuals with deafness. Digital health researchers from Monash University’s Action Lab at the Faculty of Information Technology led research and development of the project.
The digital sign language bank features more than 60 suggested signs for mental health terminology including ‘mental health’, ‘withdrawn’, ‘panic’ and ‘mind care’.
Global mental health researcher and project lead Dr Tasdik Hasan from the Action Lab said deaf people have higher mental health needs compared to the general population yet they encounter numerous barriers including limited access to mental health information and a global shortage of professionals trained to communicate effectively with them.
“As is typical for a South Asian country, there is a lack of discussion around mental health generally in Bangladesh and this is compounded in the deaf community where there are no standard signs to express different types of complex emotions or other aspects of mental wellbeing,” Dr Hasan said.
“Through this project we have focussed on developing tools through human-centred design to empower this underserved community so they can express emotions accurately and normalise conversations around mental health.”
Lived experience
Monash University researchers partnered with community organisation Team Inclusion Foundation to co-develop the project. CEO and founder, Mr Jahirul Islam from Dhaka, Bangladesh, has lived experience of disability and has been a disability rights advocate for 12 years.
“It is very valuable to have the benefit of researchers collaborating with under-resourced communities to deliver tangible disability-inclusive development which can be accessed by the people who it is meant for,” Mr Islam said.
Mr Mohhammed Abdullah, a deaf person from Bangladesh who was part of the project, said: “Working on this project showed me how vital mental health is for everyone. We discovered new terms that never existed in our community’s vocabulary—words like ‘depression’, which we had never fully understood.
“Before, we expressed emotions with just four words: sadness, joy, pain and liking. Through this project, I realised that mental health is far more complex and expansive than we ever imagined.”
Professional sign language interpreter Ms Arafat Sultana Lata worked with researchers to develop the signs for the sign bank. “We co-created new signs with the hearing-impaired community, building a vocabulary that captures nuanced emotions and deepens mental health understanding.
“Seeing our community grow more aware and empowered, I feel a deep responsibility to spread this knowledge further. Every new sign we create is a step toward liberation.”
The researchers aim to evaluate the tools and collaborate on creating more resources to gain a comprehensive understanding of mental health, including severe mental health conditions.
Monash Assistive Technology and Society Centre and the Action Lab supported and funded the research.
The sign bank and other resources to raise awareness of mental wellbeing, demonstrated by a sign language interpreter, are freely available with Bangla and English subtitles. Access the video resources.
