University of Queensland researchers need Australian audiologists and audiometrists to help them improve accessibility of hearing services for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Their CALD project aims to explore the barriers and facilitators for Australian audiologists and audiometrists in engaging with spoken language interpreters in hearing clinics during appointments with children and adults from CALD backgrounds.
Researchers are appealing for hearing practitioners to do a short survey on barriers and facilitators.
“This will help researchers address barriers in the future to improve the accessibility of hearing services for CALD communities,” said Research Fellow on the CALD project, audiologist Dr Mansoureh Nickbakht.
Dr Nickbatht is from the University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR).
“Effective help for hearing loss is available through the Hearing Services Program(HSP) but people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities are less likely to access it,” she said.
“The reasons for this are not clear but one reason could be lack of access to interpreters’ services.”
A review of the HSP recommended that the Government identify the challenges for access to HSP for CALD people. In 2022, the University of Queensland received an NHMRC grant for the CALD project to address recommendations of the HSP review.
Dr Mansoureh said Australia was a culturally diverse country with almost 30% of Australians born overseas and more than 20% speaking a language other than English at home.
In the project, researchers will work with people from CALD backgrounds and hearing healthcare providers to understand what helps and hinders children and adults from CALD backgrounds in accessing hearing health care. It aims to co-develop and test strategies to help people from CALD communities access hearing health care.
Other lead researchers on the project are Professor Piers Dawes, Dr Mehwish Nisar and Associate Professor Nerina Scarinci from the University of Queensland, and Dr John Newall from Macquarie University.
The survey, which takes a maximum of 10 minutes and closes on 10 October 2024, can be accessed here. It is open to audiologists or audiometrists who work in Australia and have more than six months’ work experience.
The research is titled perspectives on engagement with interpreting services by audiologists/audiometrists.
