DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HEARING LOSS PREVENTION EDUCATION: A COMPREHENSIVE HEARING HEALTH PROGRAM (CHHP) PILOT STUDY

Transcription

1 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HEARING LOSS PREVENTION EDUCATION: A COMPREHENSIVE HEARING HEALTH PROGRAM (CHHP) PILOT STUDY National Hearing Conservation Association February 25, 2017 Kathy Gates, AuD, Prevention Lead Natasha Gorrell, MSPH, Program Manager

2 DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, or the U. S. Government. 2

3 AGENDA Comprehensive Hearing Health Program (CHHP) Overview Pilot Study Educational Materials Results Next Steps 3

4 HEARING IS A CRITICAL SENSE The ability to hear and communicate is Critical to the safety of each warrior and unit Central to effective command and control A vital component for mission accomplishment A key consideration in Force Management Attrition, retrain, replace Quality of life requires hearing Enables you to participate in family life, play team sports, appreciate nature, and enjoy music. We Live in a Noisy World! 4

5 DOD CHHP OVERVIEW The Hearing Health Triad Develop hearing health education tools Integrate hearing health education into formal training & leadership schools Global Outreach CHHP Develop Standard Evaluation Procedures & funding for hearing protection devices (HPD) Reduce hazardous noise at source thru acquisition best practices Total Force annual hearing protection device (HPD fitting/training Develop & implement policy for periodic hearing health surveillance Assesses individual hearing & HPD fittings Individual hearing health education 5

6 EDUCATE Increase awareness and understanding of hearing and hearing loss prevention from exposure to hazardous noise levels Promote individual behavior and organizational changes Education opportunities consist of the following: Individual health education during annual hearing test and/or clinical audiology encounter Organizational health events Work-site hearing health class HCE materials available to help promote hearing health education ( Informational brochures, slick sheets, flip charts, posters No cost 6

7 PROTECT Services can occur during the audiology and hearing conservation/annual monitoring (e.g., clinical encounter and annual DOEHRS-HC audiogram) Arm SMs and Veterans with: Knowledge and strategies to prevent hearing loss from exposure to hazardous noise levels (prevent/preserve) HPD distribution and fitting as part of the clinical encounter Provide informational materials/prevention education HCE initiative: Establish centralized procurement for hearing protection 7

8 MONITOR Provides clinical audiological evaluations and periodic air conduction threshold testing (i.e., DOEHRS-HC) to identify auditory function and changes in hearing over time Provides the education and hearing protection counseling (to include engineering controls) at time of the audiology clinical and hearing conservation encounter 8

9 CHHP PILOT STUDY 9

10 CHHP PILOT Objective: To deliver educational sessions using with CHHP materials as part of every clinical and occupational hearing health encounter to Service Members who are seen at the clinics at any participating military locations 10

11 CHHP PILOT Target population: Active duty individuals who are a risk for hearing loss and can play a role in preventing it Three sites (Air Force, Army, Navy/Marines): JBSA Lackland (Clinical: Wilford Hall Audiology, Occupational: Base Operational Medical Clinic) Brooke Army Medical Center (Clinical: Audiology, Occupational: McWethy Troop Medical Clinic) Naval Medical Center San Diego (Clinical: Audiology/ENT, Occupational: Marine Corps Recruit Depot) Three groups at each site: Clinical (BHDA) Occupational (FBNA) Control 11

12 CHHP PILOT Subjects 432 subjects (48 in each group; 9 groups) Inclusion criteria English-speaking, U.S. active duty military personnel scheduled to see an audiology provider/ent U.S. active duty military stationed at one of the participating study bases will be eligible for enrollment in the control arm of this study Age 18 and over Exclusion criteria Non-active duty, Reservist, National Guard Visually apparent pain, dizziness, or other infirmity that might prevent the patient from providing informed consent, or from comfortably reading and responding to simple instructions on an Android tablet or using a touch screen to make responses 12

13 CHHP PILOT Recruitment Subjects will be recruited from respective clinics when coming in for appointment Control group recruited from public space such as the cafeteria Intervention Educational session administered by an audiologist or hearing technician using CHHP educational materials (10-15 minutes) 13

14 CHHP PILOT Questionnaire Designed by combining relevant questions from multiple validated surveys in the literature and modifying questions to apply to our target population Baseline: 45 questions (in-person on tablet) Post-intervention: 49 questions (in-person on tablet) 6-month follow-up: 42 questions (SurveyMonkey) 14

15 EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS 15

16 CHHP POSTERS FOR HEARING HEALTH PROMOTION 16

17 CHHP POSTERS FOR INDIVIDUAL HEARING HEALTH COUNSELING 17

18 CHHP HEALTH EDUCATION PRODUCTS 18

19 RESULTS 19

20 RESULTS Due to delays in IRB approval, we have not begun our data collection phase yet 20

21 NEXT STEPS 21

22 NEXT STEPS Revising materials Based on the feedback from providers and patients, we will improve and revise educational materials Scaling up program Overall goal to have hearing health education be standardized and consistent throughout the DoD Disseminate CHHP materials and track outcomes on a larger scale Disseminate to VA clinics Precision medicine approach Submitted funding to create risk profiles for groups of Service Members based on noise exposure and genetics to tailor education to specific groups based on variety of risks 22

23 QUESTIONS? 23