2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
| Assessing Audiology Access: Exploring the Barriers to Early Hearing Healthcare for North Carolina Families
Assessing Audiology Access: Exploring the Barriers to Early Hearing Healthcare for North Carolina Families
Current JCIH guidelines describe a standard of care for the early management of hearing loss in infants and young children. Timely access to care after a failed newborn hearing screening is paramount to limit the effects of undermanaged early hearing loss on language, developmental, and educational outcomes for children. Families can face significant barriers in timely access to care. The identification of these barriers is crucial for improving the accessibility of audiology for families of children with hearing loss and research is currently limited in these areas.
Drawing from the experience of both North Carolina (NC) families and audiologists, this project aims to identify barriers families experience when trying to access hearing care while also identifying perceptual discrepancies between providers and families. This project is led by three LEND trainees in the Doctor of Audiology program at UNC Chapel Hill, with mentoring provided by UNC faculty. Data will be collected by survey distribution in collaboration with the CARE Project, NC EHDI Parent Support Team and North Carolina audiologists. Using the survey, we aim to identify the discrepancies of barrier perception of hearing healthcare; the process between identifying hearing loss and receiving hearing assistance, as well as primary resources utilized by families of children with hearing loss. Our goal is that this analysis will inform families and providers on the discrepancies in barrier and quality of care perception to accurately address the needs of families and improve access. This information could allow providers to better assist caregivers when seeking resources and identify areas lacking systemic healthcare support to promote quality audiological care in North Carolina for children with hearing loss.
- Attendees will be able to describe barriers to pediatric hearing healthcare from both the perspective of families and audiologists in North Carolina.
- Attendees will be able to identify discrepancies between the barriers reported by audiologists and by caregivers of children with hearing loss in North Carolina.
- Attendees will be able to identify meaningful resources used by families of children with hearing loss in North Carolina.
Presentation:
3478265_16327GraceRowland.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Grace Rowland
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, ggrow@med.unc.edu;
Grace Rowland is a full-time graduate student in the audiology doctoral program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She received a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Public Health with a minor in Spanish from Purdue University. Ms. Rowland is a LEND Audiology Trainee at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, UNC School of Medicine.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Alana Epstein
(Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, alana_epstein@med.unc.edu ;
Alana Epstein is a full-time graduate student in the audiology doctoral program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and Psychology from Furman University. Ms. Epstein is a LEND Audiology Trainee at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, UNC School of Medicine.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Courtney Greene
(Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, courtney_greene@med.unc.edu;
Courtney Greene is a full-time graduate student in the audiology doctoral program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She received a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in American Sign Language from Appalachian State University. Ms. Greene is a LEND Audiology Trainee at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, UNC School of Medicine.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Hannah Siburt
(Author,Co-Author), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, hannah_siburt@med.unc.edu;
Dr. Siburt is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Division Director for the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC. She also serves as a LEND faculty member at UNC. Dr. Siburt has over 14 years of experience as an audiologist.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Caitlin Sapp
(Author,Co-Author), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, caitlin.sapp@unchealth.unc.edu;
Dr. Sapp is the head of Pediatric Audiology at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, NC, and the director of the Early Hearing Loss Lab. Her research interests include examining the factors that improve language and social outcomes for children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, in particular malleable clinical factors like parent counseling.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -