Firefighter hearing health: An informatics approach to screening, measurement, and research

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a standardized interface terminology, the Omaha System, with respect to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Design: A descriptive, correlational design was employed for this secondary analysis with the data from an ongoing hearing protection intervention study. Study sample: A total of 346 firefighters were included. Results: First, an evidence-based standardized care plan (EB-SCP) for hearing screening was developed and validated by clinical experts. Second, occupational health records were used to compute Omaha System Knowledge, Behavior, and Status outcomes. Third, research data were mapped to Omaha System rating scales. For Knowledge, the mean score was close to ‘adequate’ (3.7). For Behavior, the mean score was close to ‘rarely appropriate’ (2.2). For Status, the mean score was close to ‘minimal sign/symptom’ (4.4). Significant positive relationships were found between Knowledge and Behavior (Spearman's rho =.13, p =.01), and between Behavior and hearing Status (Spearman's rho =.12, p =.02). Conclusions: Findings support the validity of the new Knowledge, Behavior, and hearing Status. Informatics methods such as the standardized NIHL EB-SCP and outcome data sets will create opportunities for clinical decision support and data exchange across various health care settings, thus supporting population-based hearing health assessments and outcomes.

Key Words::

• Informatics
• Omaha System
• firefighters
• hearing

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge firefighter union leaders and fire chiefs for their collaborations, and all of the participants from fire departments in California, Illinois, and Indiana. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Omaha System Partnership for Knowledge Discovery and Health Care Quality. Part of this work was presented at the Midwest Nursing Research Society 36th Annual Research Conference, April 12–15, 2012, Dearborn, Michigan, USA.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The authors were partially supported by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Administration Assistance to Firefighters Grant (Grant number: EMW-2007-FP-00785, PI: Hong).