Project #2: Perspectives of sustainability practices in the audiology industry
Project 2 consisted of working from the ground up with planning, researching, and designing a research survey targeting audiologists working in various locations and clinic types. The goal of the survey is to understand the attitudes of audiologists in adopting sustainable practices in the wider audiology industry. It is anticipated that the survey will be distributed to audiologists across all sectors – from public hospitals, universities, community health centres and manufacturers, to privately owned clinics and hospitals.
When talking about sustainable practices, it refers to ways in which audiology clinics and audiologists can minimise their environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable future. These include things like implementing hearing device and battery recycling programs, sustainable product sourcing, paperless systems, opting for re-usable equipment, and educating patients and peers on sustainable practice.
The survey is also interested specifically in audiologists who fit hearing aids, and in finding out how much does sustainability influence their recommendations and what industry wide changes audiologists would like to see happen in the future. This project has been led solely by the passion and commitment of our fellow audiology research students and will be included as part of a wider global provider survey facilitated by the Global OHNS (otolaryngology-head and neck surgery) initiative. This research collaborative aims to “to advance the availability, accessibility, and quality of global OHNS subspecialty care through research and advocacy”. It is also being used as an independent studies project for some of second year audiology students this year (2023).
