Prioritizing the target audience for a hearing awareness campaign in Australia using the TARPARE model

Lay Summary Hearing loss affects one in six Australians, and it is estimated that around one-third of all hearing loss is preventable. Over the past decade, there have been repeated calls for a national health campaign that can raise awareness of hearing health. In order to work out which population segments to target as part of a campaign, we used a model called the TARPARE model to look at which groups a campaign would be most effective for. To help us do this, we asked a group of health experts to provide their input through a survey. Young children and caregivers received the highest score based on their survey responses and the TARPARE model. The responses from the health experts also revealed three key themes to consider for a hearing campaign: Accessibility and availability of hearing services, Deciding on a preventative or treatment-focused approach, and The difficulty of changing behavior. Hearing loss affects one in six Australians, and it is estimated that around one-third of all hearing loss is preventable. Over the past decade, there have been repeated calls for the development of a national campaign in Australia, aimed at raising the public's awareness of hearing health. We identified six target groups either at risk of developing hearing loss, vulnerable to poor outcomes as a result of untreated hearing loss, or lacking awareness of hearing health services, and applied the TARPARE model as a way of gathering insight into how a national hearing campaign might prioritize these different population segments. An online survey of prominent Australian academics, health practitioners and advocacy professionals with expertise in hearing health and/or public health promotion was created, through which their views on each of six potential target groups that had been identified as likely recipients of a potential hearing health campaign was sought. Young children and caregivers received the highest score based on survey responses and TARPARE criteria. A qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses from the survey respondents revealed three key themes to consider as part of a potential campaign: Accessibility and availability of hearing services, Deciding on a preventative or treatment-focused approach, and The difficulty of changing behavior.