title: Firefighter hearing health: an informatics approach to screening, measurement, and research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a standardized interface terminology, the Omaha System, with respect to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive, correlational design was employed for this secondary analysis with the data from an ongoing hearing protection intervention study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 346 firefighters were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  First, an evidence-based standardized care plan (EB-SCP) for hearing screening was developed and validated by clinical experts. Second, occupational health records were used to compute Omaha System Knowledge, Behavior, and Status outcomes. Third, research data were mapped to Omaha System rating scales. For Knowledge, the mean score was close to 'adequate' (3.7). For Behavior, the mean score was close to 'rarely appropriate' (2.2). For Status, the mean score was close to 'minimal sign/symptom' (4.4). Significant positive relationships were found between Knowledge and Behavior (Spearman's rho =.13, p =.01), and between Behavior and hearing Status (Spearman's rho =.12, p =.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings support the validity of the new Knowledge, Behavior, and hearing Status. Informatics methods such as the standardized NIHL EB-SCP and outcome data sets will create opportunities for clinical decision support and data exchange across various health care settings, thus supporting population-based hearing health assessments and outcomes.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0608, USA. oisaeng.hong@nursing.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: OiSaeng
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Monsen
authors.forename: Madeleine J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Dal Lae
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Amy B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lytton
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D048088:Informatics; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic