Development of an EHDI Resource Guide for Spanish-Speaking Families in North Carolina

According to Quiñonez Sumner (2015), professionals working with deaf and hard-of-hearing children would benefit from a deeper understanding of the Hispanic population, because the percentage of deaf and hard-of hearing children in this group is greater than in the Caucasian population (Smith, 2002) and other ethnic groups (Mehra, Eavey, & Keamy, 2009). Although the reasons are unknown, “neonatal hearing loss, already one of the most common birth disorders in the U.S., is especially prevalent among Hispanic-Americans” (American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 2009). The suggested greater prevalence of hearing loss in this population coupled with barriers to accessing audiologic care makes the need for a specialized resource guide for Hispanic families of children with hearing loss very apparent. This project was designed and conducted by the first author in collaboration with the two coauthors, in partial fulfillment of requirements for graduate students funded by the North Carolina LEND program. The purpose is to identify barriers and facilitators encountered by Spanish-speaking families in North Carolina when accessing pediatric audiology services. A multi-media Resource Guide for Spanish-speaking families is being developed to address the unique challenges faced by this population.

根据基尼奥内斯·萨姆纳（2015年）的研究，从事聋儿和听力障碍儿童工作的专业人员若能更深入地了解西班牙裔人群，将会受益匪浅，因为该群体中聋儿和听力障碍儿童的比例高于白人人群（史密斯，2002年）以及其他族裔群体（梅赫拉、埃维、基米，2009年）。尽管原因不明，“新生儿听力损失已经是美国最常见的出生缺陷之一，在西班牙裔美国人中尤为普遍”（美国耳鼻喉头颈外科学会，2009年）。鉴于该人群听力损失患病率较高，且在获取听力保健服务方面存在障碍，因此显然非常需要为有听力损失儿童的西班牙裔家庭提供专门的资源指南。本项目由第一作者与另外两位合著者合作设计并实施，是北卡罗来纳州LEND项目资助的研究生满足部分要求的内容。其目的是确定北卡罗来纳州讲西班牙语的家庭在获取儿科听力服务时所遇到的障碍和促进因素。目前正在为讲西班牙语的家庭开发一个多媒体资源指南，以应对该人群所面临的独特挑战。