What are the research interests of parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children?

Dr Zara Gray^1,2,4, Libby Smith², A/Prof Amy Gray^1,2,3, A/Prof Valerie Sung^1,2

¹Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, ²Prevention Innovation, Population Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, ³Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, ⁴NextSense, Melbourne, Australia, ⁵Australian Genomics Health Alliance, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, ⁶Implementation Science, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia, ⁷Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, ⁸NextSense Institute, Sydney, Australia, ⁹Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Introduction:
The future direction of childhood hearing research should incorporate the views of families of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. Our project partners with parents to explore, through focus groups, what they perceive are important areas to research for DHH children.

Methods:
We invited parent participants of the Victorian Childhood Hearing Longitudinal Databank to participate in semi-structured focus groups. A total of 20-30 parents are being included in the study, with 4-8 parents attending each focus group held online via zoom. Each interview is recorded and then transcribed verbatim. We will use inductive content analysis to identify the themes that arise.

Results:
As of November 2022, 58 parents responded to our invitation to express their interest in participation. We have completed three focus groups, with one further focus groups scheduled. Transcription of focus groups will be complete by December 2022, with content analysis to follow closely behind their completion. Results are anticipated to be available by February 2023.

Discussion:
This study addresses the importance of  developing research priorities in child hearing research together with families of DHH children to ensure research activities are relevant to their needs. Our results will directly inform how child hearing research will be shaped in light of impending plans towards a national child hearing registry.

Biography:

Dr Zara Gray is a current Royal Australasian College of Physicians advanced trainee in general paediatrics and neonatology. Zara has been working with VicCHILD for the past 2 years on her current consumer engagement project. She is current the senior paediatric registrar at the Launceston General Hospital.