In many low- and middle-income countries, there is a paucity of hearing healthcare professionals that exist to manage ear and hearing care. Contrasting this is that hearing loss is considered to be a disease of poverty, where the prevalence of hearing loss is disproportionately higher than in high income countries.

Identify a country which has low resources for ear and hearing care (such as a country in Africa or the Philippines), and describe how you would design a community-based hearing rehabilitation program for the community. Gather as much information that you can about the existing healthcare system of the country which you have chosen to inform the development of your CBR program, and use this to justify your solution.

Key Readings:

Use the WHO resource to inform your design  http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/news/CBREarHearingCare.pdf

The prevalence of middle ear disease in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia is estimated to be well above 4% which the WHO (2004) states constitutes a "massive public health problem...requiring urgent attention". Describe key reasons for this.

Specifically, review the evidence for disparities in health and middle ear disease in this population relative to the non-indigenous population. Consider the AIHW report on Australia's Health as well as literature on (i) the social determinants of health, (ii) service delivery models for hearing healthcare rural and remote areas in Australia, and (iii) cultural appropriateness to describe key reasons for this disparity.

Key Readings:

Gracey M. & King M. (2009). Indigenous health part 1: Determinants and disease patters. Lancet, 374; 65-75.

Young C. et al. (2016). A case study of enhanced clinical care enabled by Aboriginal health research: the Hearing, EAr health and Language Services (HEALS) project. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12586

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018 report on Australian's Health https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2018-in-brief/contents/about

Coates, H. L., Morris, P. S., Leach, A. J., & Couzos, S. (2002). Otitis media in Aboriginal children: tackling a major health problem. The Medical Journal of Australia, 177(4), 177-178.

Within your Design Challenge groups, develop a written submission of no more than 6 pages in length (with normal margins, size 12 font). This should: (i) outline your design challenge, (ii) present the background information that you have gathered from the literature which highlights the magnitude or impact of the problem, (iii) present the methodological approach that the team has taken to develop and refine your design (i.e. interview with experts, conducting a site visit for contextualisation of the problem, interviewing people who are affected by the problem or reviewing the literature) and include the synthesised information which you gathered and justify how this has informed your design solution; and (iii) discuss how your solution addresses this.  

The group presentation of your solution will be presented to your colleagues in class (10 minutes per group). Be creative! This could be in the form of a video that you have designed or educational materials. The presentation should be centred on your solution - which could be an awareness campaign, an educational solution, a technological solution with supportive educational information or something else which addresses the specific problem that you have selected. 

Assignment Format: The assignment includes a visual presentation and a written submission (no more than 6 pages in length, using normal margins and size 12 font). Video material should be limited to 6 minutes. Educational materials or supportive information for a technological solution can be included. 

Team declaration: All team members must sign a declaration statement (to be provided) which states which team members contributed to each part of the process (eg background research, development of presentation materials, etc) and that this was a team effort.

Written exam - 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time.