Development and Assessment of a Spanish-Language Hearing Loss Toolkit for Self-Management

Development and Assessment of a Spanish-Language Hearing Loss Toolkit for Self-Management

The objective of this application is to develop and evaluate Spanish-language hearing education materials for adults. Our hypothesis is that participants will demonstrate better understanding of their hearing loss and associated difficulties, and will be better able to identify options for self-management following delivery of culturally and linguistically appropriate patient education materials.

There are documented disparities in hearing healthcare use between Hispanic/Latino adults and non-Hispanic/Latino Whites, despite similar hearing loss prevalence rates. It has been suggested that a lack of culturally competent interventions contributes to poor healthcare delivery and outcomes for those with limited English proficiency. The objective of this application is to develop and evaluate Spanish-language hearing education materials for adults. Our hypothesis is that participants will demonstrate better understanding of their hearing loss and associated difficulties, and will be better able to identify options for self-management following delivery of culturally and linguistically appropriate patient education materials. The rationale for the proposed research is that findings will contribute to the development and testing of novel interventions aimed at increasing hearing healthcare access and utilization in vulnerable populations in a subsequent R01 application.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Participants will include community-dwelling, Spanish-speaking (monolingual or bilingual) adults over age 50 who self-identify as Hispanic/Latino
2. Clinically-significant hearing loss defined as either greater than 25 decibels hearing leve (dB HL) thresholds at 2 or more frequencies from 250 - 8000 hertz (Hz) and/or significant self-reported hearing difficulties as defined by a score of greater than 8 on the Hearing Handicap Inventory - Screening measure for adults/elderly.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who are not fluent Spanish-speakers or who do not self-identify as Hispanic/Latino are not eligible to participate in this study.