2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
DUKE ENERGY CONVENTION CENTER
Representation of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention on Twitter
In 2020, EHDI programs across the country identified 6,291 children as D/deaf or hard of hearing, yet only 61% of these families enrolled in early intervention services (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). One common reason for lack of engagement is family refusal. It has been suggested that misinformation about EHDI and Early Intervention services may be a contributing factor in this poor uptake of services (Woodruff & Cienkowski, in revision). One way to relay information to families is through social media platforms. The usage of platforms like Facebook and Twitter became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic (Pew Research, 2021). Twitter specifically provides a window into such communication trends for those of child-bearing years (Pew Research, 2021). The goal of this study was to investigate EHDI content represented on Twitter in 2019-2020.
To do this, a custom webscraper was developed to extract account name, Twitter handle, date posted, tweet text, replies, likes, and retweets from tweets with the key word “early hearing detection and intervention.”
A total of 323 tweets were extracted. The results showed that most tweets came from groups with a vested interest in the content (57%) such as government organizations with a median reach of each tweet to 45.1 users. Links to other content were included in 40.1% of tweets. Thematic analysis resulted in four major themes that included educational materials, advocacy instances, family-oriented materials, and clinic promotion. The mean Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 10.75 for all tweets exceeding the federal health literacy recommendation. These findings suggest that information being shared on Twitter may not be linguistically accessible and that the content covered is not reaching a large audience with the information they need to make informed decisions about their process in the EHDI system.
- As a result of this presentation, the participant will be able to explain the role that Twitter has on the target population of individuals who may be navigating through the EHDI process.
- As a result of this presentation, the participant will be able to summarize the qualitative methods utilized in this study and understand how these methods enable voices to be heard across social media platforms such as Twitter.
- As a result of this presentation, the participant will be able to describe the use and reach of Twitter as a means of disseminating information on EHDI.
Poster:
3420032_15708NoraMachin.pdf
Presenter: Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin, PhD is a Research Scientist in the HELLO Lab of Dr. Derek Houston at UCONN. Passionate about bolstering the voices of stakeholders, Torri Ann implements qualitative methods to highlight the power and value of individual voices in making change. Torri Ann is interested in the intersection of public health, early intervention, and family support.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Grants for Other activities from EAA.
• Receives Salary for Employment from UConn Health.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional (Board memeber)
relationship for Board membership.
• Has a Professional (Consult with Student Committee)
relationship for Volunteer consulting.
• Has a Professional (Board memeber)
relationship for Board membership.
Nora Machin is a senior at the University of Connecticut with studies concentrated in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Nora is passionate about person-centered care, and working with individuals who have hearing differences and/or language barriers. This focus stems from a proficiency in Spanish. Recent experience in the UConn Aural Rehabilitation Lab has further solidified a goal of working in the field of communication sciences with research work.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional (UConn Aural Rehabilitation Lab)
relationship for Other volunteer activities.
Katharine Cartwright
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Kathleen M Cienkowski, Ph.D. CCC/A is an Associate Professor and Department Head of SLHS at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Cienkowski studies the benefits of AR among patients with acquired hearing loss and their families. Her work has been funded by National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration. She is the Past-President of the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology, Past-Coordinator for the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) Special Interest Group 7: Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation. She currently serves a audiology discipline coordinator for the UCONN LEND and co-investigator for the UCONN Pediatric LEND Supplement grant.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -