2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
| Nurturing Resilience: Facilitating a Support Group for the Parents of Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children to Address Grief
Nurturing Resilience: Facilitating a Support Group for the Parents of Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children to Address Grief
Introduction: While connection between stress, depression, and caring for a child with hearing loss is well studied, addressing grief in this parenting journey remains challenging. Previous exploratory research at our institution has shown that grief may serve as a barrier to timely interventions, indicating the need for fostering community among caregivers. Hence, we were interested in facilitating a support group to address grief experienced by parents upon receiving a diagnosis of hearing loss in their children.
Methods: A four week series of an hour long virtual sessions, facilitated by a social worker and a special education provider. Parents of children diagnosed with hearing loss within the past two years were emailed the invitation along with a pre-intervention survey.
Results/Intervention: Sixty eight parents completed the survey. Higher reported grief score was positively associated with non-White background (p=0.034), older current age of child (p=0.018), and younger age at diagnosis (p=0.023). On average, six parents participated during each session, including 2-3 parents from Spanish-speaking background, for whom a live interpreter was provided. Each session started with discussion regarding evidence-based approaches to help manage grief, including: 1) Understanding different stages of grief, 2) Grief as a means of healing, 3) Yoga, mindfulness, and gratitude, and 4) Importance of open dialogue. The latter half of each session entailed a group activity to engage the parents via different discussion prompts such as “What is something that you are grateful for?”, aimed to help participants share their lived experiences with other parents.
Conclusion: By providing a structured and nurturing environment, the support group aimed to empower parents with strategies needed to navigate the emotional complexities of their unique parenting experience. Future efforts are aimed at increasing attendance rate and utilizing quantitative studies to develop culturally competent strategies that can better serve the emotional needs of parents from different backgrounds.
- Participants will be able to identify factors that are positively associated with higher reported grief scores.
- Participants will learn about evidence-based approaches for managing grief, with a particular emphasis on how these strategies can be beneficial in the context of parenting a child with hearing loss.
- Participants will learn about the structure and content of a four-week support group designed to address grief in parents of children with hearing loss.
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Presenters/Authors
Amritpal Singh
(Primary Presenter,Author), University of California, San Francisco , amritpal.singh@ucsf.edu;
Amritpal Singh is currently a third-year medical student at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine and one of the candidates of a tailored medical education track called the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME). In accordance with the mission of this program, his research interests lie in working with the underserved populations to help eliminate barriers to healthcare and improve the quality of care provided to vulnerable individuals. Particularly, he is passionate about exploring how disadvantageous socioeconomic status can lead to poor health outcomes.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Silvia Bellfort-Salinas
(Author), University of California, San Francisco, silvia.bellfort-salinas@ucsf.edu;
Silvia Bellfort-Salinas, MSW-LCSW, is a license clinical social worker at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, OHNS’s Children Communication Center. She has over 16 years of experience working in both international and domestic child-welfare. Silvia earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare and Political Science from UCB, beginning her career working with families and children. Silvia spent a year in Bologna, Italy as a volunteer for refugee families. Upon her return to the United States and while still a student at UCB, Silvia became a Spanish medical interpreter at UCSF Health helping vulnerable monolingual speaking families. This job let her to learn about social work in pediatrics, earning her MSW from the University of Southern California. Today Silvia’s purpose and passion lies in helping children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing through advocacy, education, research and emotional support.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
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Jihyun Stephans
(Author), Jihyun.Stephans@ucsf.edu;
Jenny is a Program and Clinical Research Coordinator for the UCSF Children’s Communication Center of Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF. Jenny completed her undergraduate degree with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in the Business Foundations at The University of Texas at Austin. Her clinical and research interests are focused on multidisciplinary hearing healthcare in pediatrics, disparities in hearing health outcomes, and language development in children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Her goals are to improve support and awareness for children that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and facilitate community outreach by creating patient & family community support programs in partnership with community organizations.
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
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David Perez
(Author), david.perez2@ucsf.edu;
David Perez is a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Children’s Communication Center of Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology where his interest in the pediatric population flourished while caring for infants and toddlers at a daycare. As he worked with kids, he became fascinated by their ability to express themselves at such a young age, especially through baby sign language. David is eager to now be part of a team that supports the communication of children with hearing differences and promotes a high standard of care for this community.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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Neema Rashidi
(Co-Presenter,Author), neema.rashidi@ucsf.edu;
Neema Rashidi is in his second year of the 5-year MS/MD track of the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program. His professional interests include studying congenital hearing loss, combating barriers to care, and operating in the intersection of health, tech, and design.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Jennifer Herges
(Author), herges.jennifer@gmail.com;
Jennifer is a special education provider who has extensive experience designing tailored programs for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Dylan Chan
(Co-Author), University of California, San Francisco, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, dylan.chan@ucsf.edu;
Dylan Chan, MD, PhD, FAAP, is Professor and Director of the Children’s Communication Center (CCC) in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his PhD in Auditory Neuroscience from the Rockefeller University and MD from Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Chan completed his ONHS residency from Stanford University, followed by a Pediatric Otolaryngology fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is the AAP EHDI California Chapter 1 Champion and Regional Network Liaison for the AAP EHDI program in California.
In 2014, Dr. Chan established the UCSF Children’s Communication Center, which is devoted to delivering multidisciplinary care for families of deaf and hard of hearing children, performing community outreach and education, and conducting clinical and translational research projects. By addressing existing shortfalls in care delivery and developing novel interventions, he hopes to significantly impact hearing health in children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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Financial relationship with N/A.
Nature: Work was funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.