- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor investigates transparent face mask to help deaf and hard of hearing patients better communicate with healthcare providers

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 13:55:43 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock faculty member is hoping to make visits to healthcare professionals easier for patients and other health workers who are deaf or hard of hearing.�� Dr. Samuel Atcherson, a faculty member at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, is researching a prototype transparent surgical face mask that allows those who are deaf or hard of hearing and non-native English speakers to read lips. The face mask will make it easier for people who have trouble understanding orally, but Atcherson said the mask was originally designed with a completely different purpose in mind. “These transparent masks weren’t initially conceived to help deaf and hard of hearing people,” Atcherson said. “Wearing a mask can be intimidating to others. It was thought it would be easier for children if they could see more of the doctor’s face, but the transparent face masks allows people to read lips. This is especially important in noisy settings where people are having a hard time hearing. This could even improve communication access for a person with normal hearing who is in a noisy setting or who is speaking to a person with a foreign accent. We try to think about it universally rather than just for people with hearing loss.” Atcherson is a co-investigator with the mask’s inventor, Jeanne Hahne, a nurse in San Francisco. They received a two-year $95,602 grant from the National Institutes of Health in July 2016 to develop and test the transparent mask. Atcherson is conducting two research studies to determine how well the mask works and how people feel about the use of the mask. “The first study is a speech perception in noise study,” he said. “We have three groups of participants: people with normal hearing, those with moderate hearing loss, and people who have severe to profound hearing loss. To prepare for this study, we obtained audiovisual recordings of a male and a female speaker wearing no mask, the traditional mask, and the transparent mask repeating sentences displayed on a screen. The participants in the study were recruited to listen to and watch the speakers and repeat the sentences presented. We are comparing how well people can understand what people are saying while wearing the traditional mask and the transparent mask or no mask at all.” Typically, wearing the traditional mask versus the transparent mask makes no difference in how well people with normal hearing understand the speakers. “People with nominal hearing loss usually have a slight benefit with being able to see the lips of the speaker,” Atcherson said. “For the group of people with severe to profound hearing loss, that made the biggest difference. Being able to see someone’s lips move can provide greater access and understanding, even if you can’t read lips. For the two groups with hearing loss, being able to see lips moving reduces the fatigue factor. You use less energy trying to understand what someone is saying.” Atcherson said much of his research has spanned from his involvement with the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss. “I’ve been involved with this group for 18 years. What I noticed very quickly is that there was a lot of misinformation about hearing aids and hearing implants,” he said. “Lots of people had lots of questions on how to use a stethoscope with these devices. I imagine the general public isn’t aware there are amplified stethoscopes on the market. Your hearing aid and hearing implant is designed to provide access to speech frequencies, but heart sounds have energy much lower in frequency. Sometimes, an implant or hearing aid can’t deliver the sounds, so we try to come up with alternative strategies to address these issues.” In his spare time, he and other fellow researchers have been working to understand the benefits and limitations of various amplified stethoscopes to help healthcare professionals and students with hearing loss detect heartbeats and lung sounds. The goal of their research is to find a way to successfully integrate hearing implants, hearing aids, and amplified stethoscopes to help healthcare professionals and students who are deaf or hard of hearing practice medicine. “It’s really a compatibility issue. You have these three devices, and everyone’s hearing loss is different. Everyone has different hearing aids and hearing implants,” Atcherson said. “It’s important to integrate these three technologies so that healthcare professionals with hearing loss can continue to do their jobs, and so healthcare students can pass their technical standards. Eventually, I feel like there is enough shared knowledge in the association that we can figure out how to connect these devices.” In the upper right photo, Dr. Sam Atcherson wears medical equipment, a transparent face mask and amplified stethoscope, he is researching designed to help deaf and hard of hearing patients and doctors better communicate. Photo by Ben Krain.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad students work weekends helping with community outreach

Janea Snyder — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 22:30:52 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology spent some weekends in October raising awareness of autism and LGBTQ issues.�� On Saturday, Oct. 6, students assisted in the held at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. Students included Kim Norton, Raweya Filat, Alexa Milan, Talyn Floerchinger, Megan Alkire, Li Xin-Smith, Elizabeth Kratz, Shayne Brown, Alexis Webernd Jared Holt, all graduate students in the Speech Pathology Program, and undergraduate students Erica Pruitt and Saniya Hamirani. The event raised $44,277 to help improve the lives of people with autism. On Saturday, Oct. 20, graduate students Jared Holt and Raweya Filat offered voice screenings at the Little Rock Pride Fest, in cooperation with the . The event, which is the state’s largest LGBTQ event, celebrates the history and culture of the LGBTQ community through events and programs to inspire and strengthen its members. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association is advised by Dr. Dana Moser, who assists the organization in scheduling and organizing a number of programs in the community. The Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology is in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in consortium with the at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The consortium gives students access to the academic and clinical resources of a major medical sciences campus with those of a large, comprehensive, metropolitan university. Photo, top right: ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Students staff a resource booth at the Autism Speaks Walk. Back row: (from left) Speech pathology students Kim Norton, Raweya Filat, Alexa Milan, Talyn Floerchinger, Megan Alkire, Li Xin-Smith, Erica Pruitt, and Jared Holt. Front row: Elizabeth Kratz, Saniya Hamirani, Shayne Brown, and Alexis Weber. Photo, above left: Graduate students Jared Holt and Raweya Filat offer voice screenings at the Little Rock Pride Fest.

Jazz and Juleps will celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe May 24

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 17 May 2018 13:56:46 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will raise money for audiology and speech pathology students at the ninth annual Jazz and Juleps event, presented by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Development Council of the Audiology and Speech Pathology Department, on Thursday, May 24, at the Clinton Presidential Center.�� The evening, which celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month, will begin with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a silent auction, and live music by Mojo de Jazz at 6 p.m. The night’s emcee, Ashlen Batson Thomasen, 2008 Miss Arkansas and an adjunct faculty member at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, will begin the program at 7 p.m. The event will also celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe, senior audiologist at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, as the 2018 Jazz and Juleps honoree. All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Wolfe’s name to assist future students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. “Brooks Gibson Wolfe was chosen for this honor to highlight her work with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents, and with a focus on those who are underprivileged and underserved,” said Nan Ellen East, retired executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas. “Her passion for helping individuals with hearing loss is truly inspirational.” Wolfe was born in Dermott, Arkansas, in 1957. She graduated from St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, Texas, in 1975, and graduated from Millsaps College with a degree in history. With an avid interest in public health, Wolfe later earned a Master of Science from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joint audiology program and a Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida. Wolfe worked as the photo editor for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts Magazine in New York. She also was the infant hearing supervisor at the Arkansas Department of Health and has worked at the Arkansas School for the Deaf for the past 24 years. She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and is the widow of Townsend Durant Wolfe III, former executive director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center. In 2017, Wolfe began a foundation in honor of her late husband – Townsend and Brooks Wolfe Charitable Hearing Fund, through the Arkansas Community Foundation. The 2018 Jazz and Juleps scholarship winners will be recognized, including Meredith Birginske, Shavari Bharambe, Maddie Droke, Dayton Hendricks, Jared Holt, Beverly McDowell, Alexa Milam, Anna Norwood, Emily Pankey, Danielle Peterson, Megan Stuckey, Kristyn Wethington, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock would like to thank the following sponsors. Gold sponsors – KLRE/K��Vlog��ýR Public Radio, Lost Forty Brewing, Magna IV Communications, Remmell Dickinson, Nan Ellen and Jack Easter, Beth and Paul Eaton, and Polly and Jeff Yant. Silver sponsors – Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Big Red, Regions Trust, James Rippy, Cathy and Jeff Shaneyfelt, and Loris and Jay Fullerton. Bronze sponsors – Arkansas School for the Death, Bailey Foundation, Tri-Lakes Liquor in Hot Springs, Ann and Jim Bain, Derek Boyce, Charlotte and Curt Bradbury, Peggy and Haskell Dickinson, Merritt Dyke, Jennifer and Tim Fisk, Delda Hoaglan, Blake Jackson, Edward Jackson, Pam and Lee Butler Jackson, Hope Keiser, Elizabeth and Arnold Mayersohn, Mary Moore, and Brooks Gibson Wolfe. Tickets for Jazz and Juleps are $50, of which $25 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. For more information, contact Derek Boyce, director of development for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, at 501-683-7355 or dcboyce@ualr.edu.

Gift of $800,000 to benefit ��Vlog��ý Little Rock education, health professions students

Janea Snyder — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 21:28:01 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received an $800,000 gift from Dr. Bruce Murphy, president and chief executive officer of the , that will benefit students in the College of Education and Health Professions. Murphy’s gift supports the Student Success Initiatives Fund within the college. Funding will be used to employ a full-time social worker and provide emergency funds for student support services such as expanded academic support through tutoring and mentoring programs, career development and financial management workshops, emergency student assistance funds, and scholarships. “Dr. Murphy understands the role ��Vlog��ý Little Rock plays in this city and is willing to support programs that promote student success while helping the economy of the region,” said ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Andrew Rogerson. “His generous giving to the College of Education and Health Professions to help in the retention and timely graduation of our nursing, social work, and education students clearly serves our students and central Arkansas. I thank him sincerely for his ongoing faith in this university and his commitment to continue to move ��Vlog��ý Little Rock forward in the coming years.” Murphy, a longtime Little Rock cardiologist, graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He said he hopes the gift will help equip students with the resources they need to overcome obstacles that might prevent them from getting a college education. “One future Little Rock must face and meet is the hope these kids have to get a college degree,” Murphy said. “This generation needs family-like resources, and we are planning this effort to supply resources to those in need.” About 2,500 students are now enrolled in programs within the College of Education and Health Professions, which includes the ; the School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation; the School of Education; Department of Nursing; and School of Social Work. “Students across all of our disciplines have benefited from the availability of these services,” said Dr. Ann B. Bain, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. “This is a model of support for students that makes a difference in student success. I cannot thank Dr. Murphy enough for his support.” Dr. Bruce Murphy is shown in the photo at top right.

Amyn Amlani named new editor of Hearing Economics

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:47:41 +0000

Dr. Amyn Amlani has been named the new section editor for Hearing Economics for .�� As section editor, Amlani and guest contributors share their opinions and perspectives every week on a wide range of subjects impacting the business management aspects of the hearing industry. The Hearing Economics section discusses the forces steering hearing healthcare markets toward equilibrium through massive and/or rapid shifts in consumer demands, professional training, technological advancement, capital investment, industry consolidation, regulatory control, product and service distribution, and strategic pricing. Amlani serves as a professor and chair of the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, a joint consortium program between the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences that offers a Doctor of Audiology degree and a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science, and Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Additionally, Amlani directs the Hearing Aid and Augmentative Technologies Laboratory, a research laboratory that is funded primarily from extramural grants and corporate sponsors. Amlani holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders from the University of the Pacific, Master of Science degree in Audiology from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. degree in Audiology/Psychoacoustics from Michigan State University. His research interests include economic and marketing trends within audiology, the influence of hearing aid technology on speech and music, hearing conservation for musicians, and room acoustics. In his free time, Amlani plays the bass guitar in cover bands (rock, metal, punk) in area venues.

Brooks Gibson Wolfe selected as Jazz and Juleps honoree

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:00:00 +0000

An educational audiologist who has dedicated her life to helping the deaf and hard of hearing in Arkansas for more than 26 years has been selected as the honoree for the ninth annual Jazz and Juleps event supporting the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology.�� The event, which celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month, will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the Clinton Presidential Library, 1200 President Clinton Ave. in downtown Little Rock. The festivities will include a silent auction with food and refreshments. Mint juleps, beer, wine, soda, and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. The honoree, Brooks Gibson Wolfe (Mrs. Townsend D. Wolfe III), is the senior audiologist at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, where she has worked for 24 years. She is responsible for ensuring that students’ personal and group amplification devices are working properly, conducting audiological evaluations, and fitting all amplification devices. “Brooks Gibson Wolfe was chosen for this honor to highlight her work with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents, and with a focus on those who are underprivileged and underserved,” said Nan Ellen East, retired executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas. ”Her passion helping individuals with hearing loss is truly inspirational.” All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Wolfe’s name to assist future students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. After graduating from Millsaps College, Wolfe worked as the photo editor for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts Magazine in New York. She returned home to Arkansas shortly after her brother, Sam, died. “My passion is to advocate for people who are deaf or hard of hearing,” Wolfe said. “It became my passion because I lost my brother at the age of 28. He was a great guy. I serve the underserved in honor of him and my late husband, Townsend Wolfe III (former executive director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center).” With an avid interest in public health, Wolfe earned a Master of Science degree from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joint audiology program and Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida. She began her audiology career as the infant hearing supervisor at the Arkansas Department of Health. “I wanted to work with children,” she said. “The earlier you can get to the children, the greater impact you have on their lives.” Throughout her career, Wolfe has also helped many people get hearing aids who could not afford them. She has worked with the, which has a mission to improve the quality of life for those at risk or impacted by hearing loss through education and support. Last year, Wolfe began a foundation in honor of her late husband – Townsend and Brooks Wolfe Charitable Hearing Fund, through the Arkansas Community Foundation – to continue her efforts to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Through this Charitable Fund, she and two additional audiologists – Dr. Hope Keiser and Dr. Pat Highley – help nursing home residents, adults with low incomes, and students at Little Rock Preparatory Academy by providing counseling and fitting for amplification devices pro bono. “The nursing home population is huge in Arkansas,” she said. “Most of them are on Medicare, and Medicare does not pay for amplification for adults. So there are many nursing home residents that need amplification but cannot afford them.” Wolfe has four stepchildren, Juliette Hightower, Mary Bryan Giroux, Zibilla Wolfe, and Townsend Wolfe IV, and three grandchildren, Thomas Hightower, Drake Kennedy, and Reid Hightower, who plans to follow in her grandmother’s steps and become an audiologist. She also is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Tickets are $50, of which $25 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Derek Boyce, director of development for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, at 501-683-7355 or dcboyce@ualr.edu.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty honored for advocacy work with deaf

Janea Snyder — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 20:21:50 +0000

Dr. Samuel Atcherson, a faculty member of the , was honored for his work with , a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing. On Oct. 26, the organization presented Atcherson with the Nan Ellen East Spirit of Advocacy Award during its 10th annual Tasting at Twilight event held at Historic Union Station in Little Rock. The award is presented annually to acknowledge an outstanding advocate who encourages, supports, and educates children with hearing loss, their families, and the professionals who serve them. Atcherson, an audiologist, is a past board member of Arkansas Hands and Voices and has presented at Arkansas Hands and Voices winter meetings. He is a long-time sponsor of Tasting at Twilight and has promoted Arkansas Hands and Voices as the charity of choice for the 2016 Little Rocktoberfest event. “Arkansas Hands and Voices is grateful for all that Dr. Atcherson has done and continues to do for families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing,” said Mandy Crow McClellan, the Guide by Your Side coordinator at Arkansas Hands and Voices. “Dr. Atcherson serves as a great role model to children and families, proving that being deaf or hard of hearing should never keep one from pursuing their dreams. His unceasing work in the areas of support, education, and advocacy continues to make a lasting impact on the lives of countless children and their families and the professionals who work with them.”

University honors Heritage Society members

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 21:38:28 +0000

The future of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is near to Mary Moore’s heart. “I am hard of hearing, so I have always felt that the university’s audiology and speech pathology department’s Speech and Hearing Clinic offers a broader spectrum of services available than other places,” Moore said. Moore has been a client of the clinic, which recommends her hearing aides and provides other services, for years. She also serves on the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology Development Council. So when the opportunity arose to meet ��Vlog��ýLR’s new chancellor, Dr. Andrew Rogerson, she didn’t hesitate to join 30 other members of the university’s Heritage Society to have “Coffee with the Chancellor” Sept. 20 at the Bailey Alumni and Friends Center. The event also recognized new members who joined the Heritage Society in the past year, including Elaine Eubank and Alfred Williams, Bill Ballard, and Loris Fullerton.

Chancellor Andrew Rogerson (left) presents a plaque to honor new Heritage Society members Elaine Eubank (middle) and Alfred Williams (right).

People can become a member of the Heritage Society by naming ��Vlog��ýLR in a will or trust, by designating the university as a life insurance or retirement plan beneficiary, or by creating some other type of planned gift. Only a statement of intent is required to participate in the Heritage Society. The society, formed in the 1990s, has had about 170 members through the years, who together contributed about $7 million to enrich the lives of future students and help the community. Almost $14 million more is planned, according to Jan Davis, director of gift planning. “Thank you for being a part of our Heritage Society,” Davis said told those who gathered for the event. “This is a very special group of people, and we are thankful for your support. We are thrilled we can celebrate you today and introduce you to our new chancellor.” The event represented the first chance for many Heritage Society members to meet Rogerson and his wife, Janessa. Rogerson answered questions on topics that ranged from ��Vlog��ýLR’s recent groundbreaking at the site of the future eStem Public Charter Schools high school on campus to the possibility of reducing the number of programs at ��Vlog��ýLR, to enhanced opportunities for the university to partner with nonprofit organizations in central Arkansas. “One of the reasons Janessa and I chose this university is because this is the only campus that spent half of the interview with the community and its leaders,” Rogerson said. “This showed a real willingness to make this university a part of the community. It’s my job, with anyone who wants to help in this room, to make this university a place where people want to be.” After spending her career working at several nonprofit organizations in central Arkansas, Moore, now a retiree, splits her time between being an Uber driver, a pet sitter, and an Airbnb host. Moore is always on the lookout for new things to do, and she is very interested in the chancellor’s ideas on expanding educational classes for seniors and providing more one-semester “signature experience” opportunities for ��Vlog��ýLR students.

Heritage Society member Mary Cantrell and Christian O’Neal, vice chancellor for university advancement, attend “Coffee with the Chancellor”.

“We need to get our students involved in the community, learning about services offered in the community,” Moore said. “We need to do a lot of what the chancellor recommended. I am big on volunteerism, and I think every student should get involved in some degree and learn about civic organizations.” Another Heritage Society member, Dr. C. Earl Ramsey, director emeritus of the Donaghey Scholars Program who worked at the university for more than 40 years, was excited to meet a new chancellor with such extensive academic experience. “This event was terrific,” Ramsey said. “I think Dr. Rogerson has a chance to be one of our best chancellors ever. He is a real academic as well as being an administrator. He has a great breadth of experience and has published 130 academic articles.” University staff members want to see the ranks of the Heritage Society grow. Each gift is appreciated regardless of size, said Davis, who encourages people to let the university know when they include ��Vlog��ýLR in their estate plans. For more information about how to become a member of the Heritage Society, contact Davis at 501-569-8738 or jpdavis@ualr.edu. In the upper right photo, Chancellor Andrew Rogerson (right) talks to Dr. Mary Good (left) during the “Coffee with the Chancellor” event for ��Vlog��ýLR Heritage Society members. Photos by Danielle Hendrix.

Jazz & Juleps raises $75k for student scholarships

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 20:32:12 +0000

The seventh annual Jazz & Juleps event raised more than $75,000 for scholarships for audiology and speech pathology students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Jazz & Juleps, held May 26 at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, annually celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month. This year is the first time the event featured a silent auction with more than 40 items for bid and a live auction. The auctions raised more than $11,000. Funds raised from Jazz & Juleps will be used to create an endowed scholarship in the name of the event’s honorees, Lynn Coates and her daughter, Caroline Coates-Nelson. The scholarship will be awarded to students in the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. Coates is an advocate who sought resources for knowledge and assistance when she learned her daughter was born with severe hearing loss. She joined the ��Vlog��ýLR Speech and Hearing Clinic, served as executive director for eight years at the Arkansas Association for Hearing Impaired Children, and was elected to serve on the parent section of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. “Our daughter, Caroline, may not have every bit of help that she needs, but she has more than those hearing‑impaired children that came before her,” Coates said. “Much of what is available to her is due to efforts made by other parents and professionals. I wonder if anyone, particularly me, has remembered to thank them. It is so easy to take the services for granted and never recognize the struggle that took place to instigate them.” Coates assisted many families through her initiatives to help those who are deaf and hard of hearing. The program at Camp Aldersgate for oral hearing impaired children and the Whitney Derrick Lending Library were among those initiatives. Since 2010, Jazz & Juleps has raised more than $450,000 in endowed accounts for audiology and speech pathology scholarships. This year, the Audiology and Speech Pathology department awarded $19,000 in scholarships to 12 well-deserving students. This year’s scholarship recipients include Kaitlyn Miller, Lindsay Sloan, Rachel Weyrens, Holly Meyers, Claire Davies, Emily Peirce, Madison White, Lauren Crouch, Stephanie Friemel, Taryn Pegram, Veronica LaGarde, and Karishma Gujral. Miller, 22, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, was thankful to receive a $2,000 scholarship, which she will use to pay the tuition for an additional ��Vlog��ýLR class in auditory-based intervention during the 2016-17 school year. The class provides a strong foundation for aspiring professionals who wish to develop listening and spoken language skills in individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. “It’s an area that is not heavily focused on, but I really want to teach kids how to communicate orally, to learn to speak, and help them find their voices,” said Miller, who is earning a master’s degree in speech pathology from ��Vlog��ýLR. In the upper right photo, Lynn Coates (middle) and her daughter, Caroline Coates-Nelson (left) were honored at the seventh annual Jazz & Juleps event on May 26.��

Research to help those with hearing loss

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 15:35:28 +0000

In the U.S. alone, 30 million people over the age of 12 have hearing loss in both ears, according to the . To learn more about the needs and experiences of this population, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Dr. Samuel Atcherson, associate professor of audiology, partnered with Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Dr. David Cella of Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University to standardize and validate a self-report survey for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Funded by a $395,543 research grant, a post-BA diversity supplement in Year 1, and an additional $1.3 million anticipated over the next four years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the project, “PROMIS-Deaf: Inclusion of Deaf Patients in Disability and Outcomes Research,” is led by Kushalnagar at RIT. Atcherson and Cella both received subawards to support their roles in the research; Atcherson’s subaward is funded at $16,938 for the first year of the project, with an additional $71,116 anticipated over the next four years. The researchers are basing their survey, which will be available in both English and American Sign Language (ASL), on the existing Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), overseen by Cella at Northwestern University. They hope the results of the new PROMIS-Deaf Profile provide enriching insight into the global, mental, physical, social, and communication quality of life experienced by deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the United States. According to the NIH, consists of “highly reliable, precise measures of patient-reported health status for physical, mental, and social well-being.” Commonly used in clinical studies, PROMIS can give researchers and physicians valuable insight into a patient’s response to treatments, as well as general insight into individuals’ quality of life. This new project seeks to make this tool accessible and directly relevant to the deaf and hard-of-hearing population by tailoring it to their situations, experiences, and needs. Atcherson’s portion of the project will involve creating a communication health domain for the PROMIS-Deaf profile, participating in the cultural adaptation of the PROMIS items for deaf and hard-of-hearing users of accessible technology and services, recruiting and surveying 250 individuals with different degrees of hearing loss, and helping analyze and disseminate the final results of the project. Participants will range in age from 18 to 65-plus. The surveys will take place at the ��Vlog��ýLR Speech and Hearing Clinic and surrounding region. To find out more about the project, visit the . “Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health under award No. R01-DC014463-01 and 3R01DC014463-01A1S1.” Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock professor investigates transparent face mask to help deaf and hard of hearing patients better communicate with healthcare providers

����Vlog��ý Little Rock grad students work weekends helping with community outreach