The Australian Government has announced close to $7.5 million funding to support research that will help prevent hearing loss and improve the health and wellbeing of those who live with hearing impairment.
Nine projects have been funded, including a number of projects focused on improving access to hearing health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Researchers at Flinders University will codesign culturally appropriate methods to overcome difficulties experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children accessing hearing healthcare.
At Curtin University, researchers that will provide the first estimates of the number of Aboriginal children who have ear infections and hearing loss from 0 to 5 years of age and will demonstrate the feasibility of screening for ear infections and hearing loss from 2 months of age.
The grants are funded for three years through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Targeted Call for Research into Hearing Health 2021: Evidence-based support services.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
“This funding will support evidence-based research that will improve access to health care to prevent hearing loss and improve the lives of those with hearing impairment.”
“We want to ensure that all Australians have access to appropriate health care, to prevent hearing loss and help those with hearing impairment remain healthy and active.”
Quotes attributable to NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso AO:
“Research projects such as those funded today will do more than address hearing. The research projects will deliver practical improvements through access to healthcare, technological innovations and social support.”
“Targeted Calls for Research through NHMRC are an important way to address specific health issues experienced in the community and produce outcomes that can be translated in health care services to improve the quality of life for all Australians.”
|
Title |
Summary |
Institution |
Chief Investigator |
Budget |
|
Pathways For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hearing Health: The PATHWAY Project |
All children have the right to hear well, but Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have inequitable access to hearing healthcare. Multifaceted strategies are needed which consider people’s first-hand experiences in the codesign of solutions. This project will generate evidence of culturally appropriate methods to build a strategy which optimises the complex and difficult-to-navigate hearing health patient pathway experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. |
Flinders University |
Dr Jacqueline Stephens |
$1,155,685 |
|
Improving access to the hearing services program for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds |
Hearing loss affects 1 in 5 people, impacting communication, quality of life, education and employment, social activities, and physical and mental health. People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities are less likely to get help. We will work with people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to co-design accessible, equitable and culturally safe hearing services to preserve and protect hearing health. |
The University of Queensland |
Professor Piers Dawes |
$902,757 |
|
Prevalence of hearing loss in Aboriginal children caused by otitis media from birth to 5 years of age and evidence of the effectiveness of health promotion programs: evidence to inform national policy |
This project will provide the first estimates of the number of Aboriginal children who have ear infections and hearing loss from 0 to 5 years of age and will demonstrate the feasibility of screening for ear infections and hearing loss from 2 months of age. It will also test, for the first time, the effectiveness of a health promotion intervention to resolve ear infections and prevent hearing loss without the need for surgery. If effective, this intervention can be implemented nationally. |
Curtin University |
Associate Professor Christopher Brennan-Jones |
$1,123,133 |
|
Building on newborn hearing screening success: towards national standards and data management
|
Australia’s universal newborn hearing screening enables early hearing loss identification, access to hearing devices and early intervention. But we do not know how hearing programs improve child outcomes, who do not access services, and whether postnatal screening occurs. We will establish the prerequisites of a national child hearing database to ensure screening/interventions improve child outcomes, ensure no deaf or hard-of-hearing child ‘falls through the cracks’, and facilitate research. |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
Associate Professor Valerie Sung |
$1,436,994 |
|
Improving the psychosocial and emotional well-being of adults with hearing loss through co-designed evidence-based services: ACE2.0 |
Hearing loss affects a person’s ability to communicate and to socialise. Community members will partner with researchers to develop an innovative and contemporary education and support program to help adults with hearing loss and their family overcome the everyday communication, social, and emotional difficulties they experience. The solution will be rolled out and evaluated in hearing services across Australia and subsequently be made available to all Australians with hearing loss. |
The University of Queensland |
Associate Professor Nerina Scarinci |
$527,012 |
|
Hearables and behavioural activation for mental distress and social isolation in hearing impaired older adults |
Age-related hearing loss is common and may lead to depression, social isolation, loneliness, and reduced quality of life. Hearing aids are expensive and simpler, cost-effective hearing amplification devices (hearables) may offer an alternative treatment strategy. This trial will test if hearables in addition to a pragmatic psychological intervention improves mood, quality of life, mental distress and social isolation in older adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. |
University of Western Australia |
Dr Andrew Ford |
$571,966 |
|
Implementation and Evaluation of a Co-designed Program Targeting the Psychosocial and Emotional Impacts of Hearing Conditions in Adults |
Hearing conditions have many psychosocial consequences and the most common forms of management such as hearing aids do not appropriately address. This project will develop an online Hearing Wellbeing Program (HWP) to improve the psychological, social and emotional wellbeing of people with hearing conditions.
|
University of Melbourne |
Associate Professor Christina Bryant |
$496,103 |
|
Empowering adults with hearing loss by increasing informed choice, accessibility, and uptake of hearing healthcare |
This project will co-create a tailored online decision aid to explain the pros and cons of available hearing health options and increase uptake of hearing healthcare to improve the lives of many adults with hearing loss. |
Curtin University |
Associate Professor Melanie Ferguson |
$683,027 |
|
Hearing loss, the silent enemy of good health: Effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and potential economic and social impact of interventions to promote treatment to facilitate improved hearing |
This project will identify barriers to medical referral for hearing care and barriers to hearing aid uptake and use and will design and evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of interventions to address these, leading to improved health outcomes for Australians. |
University of Melbourne |
Associate Professor Julia Sarant |
$541,448 |