The Deaf Heart Project

Title: World Hearing Day Barbados 2024

Primary site: AMR – Barbados         Additional site(s):

Description:

World Hearing Day Barbados 2024 featured 2 weeks of activities increasing community awareness and addressing hearing loss stigmas. Activities included a traditional and social media campaign which reached over 35,000 individuals. A training seminar was executed to teach new volunteers, including a physician and first trained deaf screener, on hearing loss and how to conduct hearing screenings. Future training of all local polyclinic nurses has now been scheduled through this event. A community health fair was also executed with a local polyclinic for the public where free hearing screenings were provided, and over 40 individuals, ages 4-75 years, were screened. Three cases of severe hearing loss were discovered and referred to the audiologist onsite. Partnerships were maintained with the Rotary Club, and also increased through engagement with the primary hospital, Health Ministry, and meetings with the regional PAHO/WHO representatives in Barbados towards the development of a hearing screening programme.

 

Live event: Yes
Screening: Yes
Traditional media: Yes
Social media: Yes
Met with individual policymakers: Yes
Participation of policymakers: Yes
Participation of influencers: Yes

WHO educational or publicity material used: Yes


New volunteers trained in hearing screenings


Live celebrity hearing screening on TV


Public Screening Event with Eunice Gibson Polyclinic


Public Screening Event with Eunice Gibson Polyclinic