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Evaluating United States Air Force hearing conservation educational materials for compliance, readability,
Thomas Dominguez1, Lucas Pettit1, Clayton Garner1
1Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Military hearing conservation educational materials largely comply with regulations but are difficult to read. Recommendations focus on improving clarity and accessibility for service members to prevent hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Audiology
- Military Medicine
Background:
- Noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus are common disabilities among US military veterans.
- Effective hearing conservation programs are crucial for preventing these service-connected conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the compliance, understandability, actionability, and readability of hearing conservation educational materials for Airmen.
- To identify areas for improvement in educational content provided to military personnel.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 67 educational materials from active-duty, continental US Air Force bases.
- Assessed compliance with US Air Force (USAF), Department of Defense (DoD), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
- Used the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V) for understandability and actionability, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) for readability.
Main Results:
- Overall mean compliance was high (83-88%) across USAF, DoD, and OSHA regulations.
- Mean understandability was 75%, and mean actionability was 89%.
- Mean readability was grade level 10.68, with 97% of materials exceeding the recommended 6th-grade level.
Conclusions:
- While compliant, hearing conservation educational materials often exceed recommended reading levels, potentially hindering comprehension.
- Recommendations include providing active feedback and condensing information to enhance understandability and actionability.
- Improving educational materials is essential for effective hearing conservation among military service members.
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