In preparation for our upcoming grant re-application, we conducted two surveys to evaluate the reach and impact of the Ida Institute on the hearing care profession. The survey results show that the Ida Institute has made a significant impact on the hearing care profession and the treatment of hearing impaired persons around the world. Thousands of hearing care professionals find the Ida tools and resources valuable and use them in their daily work with hearing impaired persons.
In 2012, the Danish Institute for Local and Regional Government Research (KORA) conducted an independent evaluation of the reach and impact of the Ida Institute. Over 500 Ida community members completed the online survey, providing an insightful glimpse into how people perceive our tools and online resources. Of those who answered the survey:
● 94% say they benefit from Ida’s materials and methods
● 78% have recommended the Ida website to colleagues
● 70% have recommended Ida materials and tools to colleagues
● 64% stated that Ida tools help them motivate patients to address hearing loss challenges
In May 2013, we initiated a second survey to supplement the KORA report and create a more complete picture of our impact on the hearing care profession. Our goal was to estimate the number of professionals, students, and patients who have been ‘touched by Ida’. In other words, we wanted to determine the number of professionals and students who have received training on the Ida tools and methods and the number of patients they have seen over the past year.
The survey results demonstrate how Ida is transforming how hearing care is practiced today. In just the past year, our network reported that they had introduced and presented the Ida tools and methods to approximately 4,000 hearing care professionals. Moreover, they reported that approximately half a million patients saw a hearing care professional in the past year who had received training on the Ida tools and methods.
We want to thank everyone who participated in the two surveys. Your input is immensely valuable. It will help us showcase the work of the Ida Institute in our grant reapplication, and thereby help ensure that we can continue to develop and share knowledge about the human dynamics of hearing loss in the future.