WHO:  The American Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACI Alliance), a not-for-profit membership organization, is focused on eliminating barriers to cochlear implantation through research, advocacy, and awareness.

WHAT:  A new research funding opportunity: Societal Costs of Severe-Profound Hearing Loss

ACI Alliance is partnering with the American Hearing Research Foundation (AHRF) to offer funding for a $25,000 research grant on the societal costs of deafness, ACI Alliance announced. It is intended that the grant recipient will explore and recommend a detailed plan for updating the seminal Project HOPE study published in 20001. This grant is intended to support the planning of a future study to address societal costs of severe-profound hearing loss. The proposed study should review and summarize comparable studies completed for other interventions and the impact on healthcare access. Issues that should be considered include (but are not be limited to):

  • Population to be studied (adults, children, or both)
  • Data collection plan
  • Method for demonstrating cost effectiveness
  • Personnel
  • Budget and timeline to undertake a future study

Grantees may be scientists in the field of hearing loss, otolaryngologists, audiologists, speech language pathologists, economists, health care experts, or others with generic expertise in the topics. The topic lends itself to an interdisciplinary approach involving individuals working within and beyond cochlear implantation.

HOW: Submissions for this grant will be made using the American Hearing Research Foundation’s grant submission process. The research is described here: http://american-hearing.org/research-grants/

The proposal due date is August 15, 2017.

The link for the AHRF grant application guidelines is: http://american-hearing.org/research-grants/grant-application-guidelines/

For more information, please visit our website www.acialliance.org or contact Donna Sorkin at: [email protected]

Source: ACI Alliance, International Journal of Technology

1 Mohr, PE, Feldman JJ, Dunbar JL. The societal costs of severe to profound hearing loss in the United StatesInternational Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. 2000; 16(4); 1120-1135.