I have no doubt that that percentage is growing. In 2001, which is the most recent year in which we have labor force statistics prior to the abolition of mandatory retirement, about 12% of our population ages 65 to 69 were active in the labor force (Statistics Canada, 2001). In three Canadian provinces there is legislation against mandatory retirement at the age of 65 (Government of Ontario, 2006 MacGregor, 2006). In Canada, the average age at which adults self report a hearing loss is about age 51 (Canadian Hearing Society, 2002). My presentation today will focus on what is happening in Canada and I encourage you to think about what is happening in the areas where you live. Daniel Fok, is an engineer whose area is ergonomics and human factors and he has made a major contribution to this project.Īs you are well aware, hearing loss is the most prevalent and fastest growing sensory related chronic disability in North America. We were fortunate that hearing science and audiology is housed in the same building as the occupational therapy program, and this brought us together to share and complement each other in this project. (candidate) Heather Hodgins, MSc and Ashley Kuchar, MSc.
Our team includes complement expertise from occupational science, occupational therapy, ergonomics and human factors: Lynn Shaw, Ph.D Lisa Klinger, MSc Daniel Fok, MEng, Ph.D. Three of us have been trained as clinical audiologists and have worked clinically. Cheesman, Ph.D Michael Prangley, MCISc and Laya Proost-Foroosh Bataghva, MCISc, Ph.D. Our team includes persons from hearing science and audiology: myself, Mary Beth Jennings, Ph.D Margaret F.
This work brought together an interdisciplinary team of researchers and consumers to critically analyze the literature on accessibility and to develop a guideline for creating and evaluating hearing accessible spaces based on principles of Universal Design. I will also discuss the implications of Universal Design for Hearing principles for examining hearing demands and for developing more hearing friendly workplaces.
Universal Design principles will be introduced, as well as the guidelines that we have developed for Universal Design for Hearing. The purpose of today's presentation is to describe an interdisciplinary approach taken by researchers to examine the applicability of Universal Design principles to hearing accessibility and usability. I'll discuss an occupational perspective to support workplace changes and how we have used that perspective to look at Universal Design principles and their application to hearing. I will give you some background information about our research team and how we came to this problem, and discuss some existing approaches that are used to support workplace accessibility. This presentation will discuss work that we have been doing in the area of Universal Design for Hearing and its application to workplaces, especially considering adults who acquire a hearing loss during their working life and who are not working in industrial settings.
To view the original presentation, register here. Editor's Note: This article is an edited transcript of the course presented live on AudiologyOnline on November 4, 2009.
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