Research Partnerships
Your Expertise Needed
BHA Brisbane participates in research projects where our experience and knowledge of, and connection with members of, the hearing-loss community can be valued.
Below you’ll find a list of current research projects we are partners in.
Your experience in living with hearing loss, or being a partner or family member of someone with hearing loss, can be invaluable to the researchers. We urge you to contact the research coordinators below and offer your insights to their research.
Empowering adults with hearing loss by increasing informed choice, accessibility, and uptake of hearing healthcare
Timeframe: 2022-2025
Lead Research Partner: Curtin University
Funding: $1,436,994
This project will co-create a tailored online decision aid to explain the pros and cons of available hearing health options and increase the uptake of hearing healthcare to improve the lives of many adults with hearing loss.
Get Involved
Researchers at Curtin University need your help to improve the lives of people with hearing loss.
We want to make it easier for people to get help for hearing loss. We are looking for people who have hearing difficulties to help us understand the kind of support people need when they first notice they have a hearing loss. Participation will take about 1.5 hours and will involve an interview and some brief questionnaires. We will have sessions online and in person and we would be glad to hear from you even if you have never got help for your hearing.
A gift card in appreciation of your involvement may be offered.
If you can help, please email Ellen at ellen.bothe@curtin.edu.au
Improving the psychosocial and emotional well-being of adults with hearing loss through co-designed evidence-based services: ACE2.0
Timeframe: 2022-2025
Lead Research Partner: University of Queensland
Funding: $527,012
Hearing loss affects a person’s ability to communicate and socialise. Community members will partner with researchers to develop an innovative and contemporary education and support program to help adults with hearing loss and their families overcome the everyday communication, social and emotional difficulties they experience. The solution will be rolled out and evaluated in hearing services across Australia and subsequently be made available to all Australians with hearing loss.
Get Involved
Better Hearing Australia and the University of Queensland are seeking participants for a research study to enhance communication outcomes for adults with hearing loss (and you don’t need to have a hearing loss to participate – see Eligibility below). By participating, you can make a significant difference in the lives of individuals and families affected by this condition.
- Eligibility: If you are over 50 and have experienced hearing difficulties, regardless of whether or not you use a hearing aid, you may qualify. We also welcome individuals over 18 who are family members or friends of adults with hearing loss.
A gift card in appreciation of your involvement may be offered.
To learn more and secure your spot, please get in touch via email at jasmine.foley@uq.edu.au or call 3365 4517 and nominate yourself as a BHA participant.
Groups and relationships to optimise wellbeing and Health
Lead Research Partners: The University of Queensland
Funding: Shares in $50 million in funding from UQ’s Health Research Accelerator (HERA) initiatives funding
In Australia, one in four people are lonely, and it is especially problematic for two groups – young people who are transitioning into adulthood, and older people who experience later life transitions that put them at increased risk of chronic disease and disability.
The GROWTH program targets the prevention and management of loneliness, and will pioneer a new integrated, sustainable community-focused approach that leverages UQ’s intervention program, GROUPS 4 HEALTH (G4H), in ways that help people to optimise and manage their access and use of existing community resources (e.g., social prescribing initiatives).
Working with academic and community partners who support young people and older adults GROWTH aims to empower people to manage loneliness when it presents, but also to prevent its occurrence which is needed to reduce the health burden and cost of loneliness at scale.
Researchers at the University of Queensland are thrilled to partner with Better Hearing Australia to implement GROUPS 4 HEALTH (G4H) to give people the knowledge and skills to build and maintain their sense of social connectedness in ways known to enhance health and wellbeing.
