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10/14/2017  |   11:15 AM - 12:15 PM   |  East Ballroom at Shalala Student Services Building

Humanitarian Educational Opportunities in an AuD Program Through the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

Doctor of Audiology students continually express interest in humanitarian missions to address hearing health care in underserved populations and countries. While interest is considerable, there are limited programs that allow students to travel abroad to deliver audiology services in developing areas. There are fewer programs addressing the dearth of accessible services in the US and in local communities. The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is a yearlong interdisciplinary fellowship that provides mentorship and leadership education, with the goal of addressing health disparities and social injustices in local communities. Each fellow is responsible for creating a program that focuses on unmet needs through community-based interventions. Through this fellowship, AuD students at the University of Pittsburgh have created the Hearing Education and Resources for Underserved Populations (HEAR-UP) program, demonstrated at two free health clinics in Pittsburgh. This once-a-month audiology service provides diagnostic testing and hearing aids if necessary, all in the same appointment at no cost to the patient. The goals of this program include providing accessible and sustainable services to underserved populations in Pittsburgh, and developing these services into a clinical practicum site where AuD students can learn core competency skills while being exposed to the humanitarian aspect of audiology. There are 13 chapters of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, with graduate students in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, law, public health, and more. The fellowship allows students to expand knowledge of issues that face underserved population while gaining cultural humility. This opportunity is a unique experience that has the ability to address gaps in accessibility and gives students a global perspective on the importance of addressing untreated hearing loss. This presentation aims to spread awareness of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship for audiology students to participate in their local program, and to detail an effective service delivery model in local free clinics.

• Describe the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and the benefits for audiology students to become involved in the fellowship to learn about local humanitarian audiology.
• Describe an effective service delivery model of audiology services in a free health clinic in Pittsburgh, and how it can be applied in other communities through the support of AuD programs.
• Design sustainable services with the ability to integrate student learning and leadership.

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Rachel Fryatt (POC,Primary Presenter), University of Pittsburgh, rvf7@pitt.edu;
Rachel Fryatt is a third year AuD student at the University of Pittsburgh. She is president of Pitt SAA and a LEND Trainee. Rachel is a graduated fellow in the Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program, a year-long interdisciplinary program that addresses health disparities and social injustices in the underserved populations of local communities. Her interests include community-based services, advocacy, and barriers in accessing amplification.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Kathleen Coyan, AuD (Author,Co-Author), University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, costigankt@upmc.edu;

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Catherine Palmer, PhD (Author,Co-Author), University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, palmercv@upmc.edu;

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.