Research Symposia at the Annual Convention of the Hearing Loss Association of America

项目总结

PROJECT SUMMARY The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is the nation’s largest organization representing people with hearing loss. The HLAA Convention, held annually, draws a broad national audience and is key to achieving HLAA’s mission "to open the world of communication to people with hearing loss by providing information, education, support and advocacy." Since 1994, each HLAA Convention has featured a Research Symposium that covers cutting-edge scientific topics relevant to adults with hearing loss. These symposia are distinctive because they are geared toward educating the hearing loss public about research. Often this is information that people with hearing loss cannot get anywhere else. However, many members of the HLAA community lack the time and resources to attend the convention. HLAA seeks NIDCD support to now bring the Research Symposia to a broader audience, by producing high-quality captioned videos of the symposium talks. Videos will be posted on YouTube and broadcast via Connected TV (accessible via Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), and disseminated on channels such as Smart Senior Living and Healthy Living. In addition, HLAA will promote viewing via local HLAA Chapter events and online webinars. Our specific aims are to present high- quality, accessible Research Symposia at each HLAA Convention from 2019-2023 (Aim 1); harness multimedia and other strategies to offer the content of the Research Symposia to those who cannot attend the HLAA Convention in person, including HLAA members and the general public (Aim 2); and improve research on hearing loss and hearing health by promoting engagement and dialogue between scientists and the community of people with hearing loss (Aim 3). Although most R13 applications are submitted by scientists and scientific or professional organizations seeking to engage with fellow scientists, this application is innovative in that it is submitted by a robust and engaged patient organization that seeks to disseminate information about scientific research to its members and the wider public.