Treatment Outcomes Research Grant

2002

Awarded $55,000
Lisa Lucks Mendel, University of Memphis
"Validating Sentence Recognition Assessments as Outcome Measures"

Lisa Lucks Mendel is an associate professor of audiology at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. Mendel’s proposal, Validating Sentence Recognition Assessments as Outcome Measures, aims to validate the use of specific sentence recognition assessment materials—such as the Speech Perception in Noise test, the QuickSIN, and the Hearing in Noise Test—as objective outcome measurements that document improvements in speech understanding with hearing aids. She will administer three sentence tests of speech recognition and one hearing aid benefit self-assessment questionnaire to a minimum of 20 adult hearing aid candidates at three different times throughout the year-long study: before hearing aid fitting, 30 days after fitting, and 60 days after fitting. Data collected from the research will be used to determine the relationship between objective sentence recognition performance of adults who wear hearing aids; determine the relationship between objective sentence recognition performance and subjective self-assessment outcome measures; and provide recommendations regarding the inclusion of both objective and subjective outcomes measures in the hearing aid evaluation process.

This research will provide a critical body of data needed to define outcomes relevant to evaluating objective and subjective hearing aid benefit. Ultimately, Mendel hopes to use the results to provide more standardization to the hearing aid evaluation process across clinics.

1999

Awarded $45,000
Richard C. Katz, Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center
"Effects of the Number of Treatment Hours on Treatment Effectiveness and Durability of Treatment Outcomes in Aphasia"

Dr. Richard C. Katz is chair of Audiology and Speech Service at the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the recipient of a $45,000 collaborative partnership grant between the Foundation and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The grant is designed to help further research activities in the area of treatment outcomes and efficacy. Dr. Katz will examine the extent to which the number of treatment hours influences the effectiveness and durability of the functional outcome of that specific treatment. The treatment to be administered in this study is an intensive stimulation-facilitation program designed to improve functional communication. It will be given to individuals with moderate to moderately severe aphasia. Several studies have documented that treatment and rehabilitation for persons with aphasia woks. However, to date, few studies have examined the extent to which the number of treatment hours influences the effectiveness and durability of that treatment. Two treatment conditions that differ only in terms of the number of treatment hours received will be utilized. It is predicted that, although both treatment conditions will improve functional communication, the magnitude of the effect will be the greatest for those receiving the most treatment. It is further hypothesized that treatment will only be sustained by those individuals receiving the greater number of treatment hours.

1997

Awarded $50,000
Jean Blosser, University of Akron, Ohio
"Reliability and Validity of Data Collection Instruments in School Speech-Language Pathology Programs"

1996

Awarded $25,000
Alex Johnson, PhD, Henry Ford Hospital and Health Sciences Center
"ASHA Functional Communication Measures: Reliability and Validity in Medical Speech-Language Pathology"