Project #1:
Global baseline provider survey: provision of ear and hearing care
Members of the research team have assisted in the production of the global provider survey, which aims to be a baseline of descriptive information about the hearing healthcare workforce across the world. This survey has been facilitated by the Global OHNS (otolaryngology-head and neck surgery) Initiative, a research collaborative whose mission is “to advance the availability, accessibility, and quality of global OHNS subspecialty care through research and advocacy”.
The global baseline provider survey looks at what types of providers exist in a particular country; for example, audiologists, ear nose and throat physicians, speech language pathologists and teachers of the deaf, among other professions. It also collects information on the types of care delivered by these providers.
The survey also seeks workforce demographic information, such as the percentage of providers in the public sector, and an estimate of the number of females in the profession. Other demographic data includes where these providers work; is it the public sector? Are they working in metropolitan areas? Finally, the survey assesses the availability of audiology training programs in the country. Translated into the six official languages of the United Nations, this survey will be disseminated internationally to hearing healthcare providers with the aim that the results will help the Global OHNS Initiative to support the design, monitoring and evaluation of workforce capacity building efforts globally.
For more information about the Global OHNS Initiative and their ongoing research, visit https://www.globalohns.org/.
