Improving Hearing Care for Children in Rural Alaska
Official title: North STAR Trial: Specialty Telemedicine Access for Referrals in Rural Alaska
Funded at Univ of Arkansas for Med Scis · NIH-11141683 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project brings specialized hearing care directly to children in rural Alaska schools using telemedicine to help prevent hearing loss.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Arkansas for Med Scis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Little Rock, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2021 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $624,712 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC020026-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141683 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children in rural Alaska schools who receive hearing screenings and need follow-up care.
✕Less likely to help
Patients outside of rural Alaska or those not participating in school-based hearing screenings would not directly benefit from this specific program.
What this research studies
Many children in rural Alaska, especially Alaska Native children, experience preventable hearing loss because it's hard to see specialists. School hearing screenings are important, but often children don't get the follow-up care they need due to a lack of local specialists. This project aims to bring a new virtual care model into schools across Alaska, including areas not served by existing Tribal health networks. By using telemedicine, we hope to make sure more children get the ear and hearing care they need after a school screening.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this project could significantly improve access to specialized hearing care for rural children, helping to prevent and address childhood hearing loss.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work by this team showed that a clinic-based telemedicine referral model significantly increased the likelihood of children receiving an ear/hearing diagnosis compared to standard referrals.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of Arkansas for Med Scis
Little Rock, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Emmett, Susan Davis — Univ of Arkansas for Med Scis
- Study coordinator: Emmett, Susan Davis
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.