[AUDITORY] PopHHC 2026 - Abstract Deadline Extension - PLEASE SHARE

[Nicole Whittle <nkwhittle@xxxxxxxxx>]



 

Abstracts Open! Population Hearing Health Care 

 

Deadline Extension to November 7, 2025!
Submit your Poster Abstracts & Student Travel Award Abstracts

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

On behalf of the Population Hearing Healthcare Conference Committee, we are pleased to announce that we will be holding our annual conference on February 24 – 25th, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, just prior to the American Auditory Society (AAS) Conference. This will be a hybrid, 2-day meeting featuring in person and virtual attendance options with post-meeting recordings for delegates. We aim to ensure that the conference is communicatively accessible.

The goal for this hybrid meeting is to bring together speakers from around the globe to discuss how to improve hearing healthcare for their communities. Our agenda will highlight speakers from three regions: 1) the United Kingdom and Africa, 2) Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and 3) North and South America. 

 

 

PopHHC 2026 Program

“Improving Hearing Health for Indigenous, First Nations, and Rural Communities”

Program Co-Chair: Dr. Matthew Bush & Dr. Naomi Hixson

PopHHC Website for more information: www.pophearing.org

 

Abstracts are OPEN: September 15, 2025 – October 31, 2025

 

<image003.png>

 

<image004.png>

 

 

 

Student Information

A limited number of competitive travel awards are available for students who submit abstracts for posters. The amount of these awards will be $2,000 USD for those within North America and $3,000 USD for those living outside of North America.

 

Admissions Offices, please share this information with your Doctor of Audiology and/or Masters of Public Health students.

 

 

 

2026 PopHHC Conference Theme

The need for addressing and improving access to hearing healthcare for rural, Indigenous, and First Nations communities is critical to addressing health disparities and promoting overall well-being. These populations often face challenges such as geographic isolation, limited healthcare infrastructure, and cultural barriers, which compound difficulties in accessing care. Within Indigenous and First Nations communities hearing loss can have significant cultural implications, affecting language preservation and connection to heritage.

By highlighting this for our conference theme, we aim to emphasize the importance of outreach, education, and culturally sensitive, community-centered care to ensure timely diagnosis, treatment, and support for hearing loss. Such efforts improve individual health outcomes, preserve cultural and linguistic diversity, foster social inclusion, and strengthen community resilience, promoting health equipping and honoring the rights and needs of individuals. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Preview of our Presentation List

PopHHC 2026 Programmatic Scientific Co-Chair – Matthew Bush, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Kentucky

Topic: Addressing Hearing Healthcare Disparities in Rural Communities

Dr. Matthew Bush is a nationally recognized physician-scientist and board-certified otolaryngologist at the University of Kentucky. With dual degrees in medicine and research, Dr. Bush has dedicated his career to advancing hearing health equity, particularly in underserved and rural populations.

 

PopHHC 2026 Programmatic Scientific Co-Chair – Naomi Hixson, AuD, SLP, Compliance Officer, Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC), Indian Health Service (IHS), previous Chief of Audiology and Acting Director of Telemedicine and Field Services. 

Topic: Delivering Tele-audiology Services to Indigenous Communities

Dr. Naomi Hixson, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and descendant of the Cherokee Nation, served the Phoenix Area by providing program development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and continuous improvement of audiologic care delivery and patient care policies. She played a leading role in advancing accessible hearing health care for Indigenous communities.

 

PopHHC 2026 Adrian Davis Lecturer – Susan Emmett, MD, MPH, Otolaryngologist surgeon affiliated with Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral, and Research Hospital (KUTRRH)

Topic: Community-Based Interventions to Overcome Geographic and Systemic Barriers to Care in Rural Alaska

Dr. Susan Emmett is an otolaryngologist, public health researcher, and academic leader based at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). She holds the Thomas McGill Chair in Otolaryngology at UAMS and serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and Epidemiology. Her professional mission centers on reducing hearing health disparities - especially in underserved, rural, and low-resource communities.  

 

PopHHC 2026 Early Career Scholar – Lilian Mokoh, M.Med, Otolaryngologist surgeon affiliated with Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral, and Research Hospital (KUTRRH)

Topic: Developing a National Ear and Hearing Care Program in Kenya

Dr. Lilian Mokoh is an otolaryngologist located in Nairobi, Kenya who is active in professional education and outreach. She completed her Otology Fellowship at the University of Cape Town and holds a Certificate for Effective Healthcare Management from the University of Toronto. 

 

 

 

Please reach out to our program committee if you have questions, suggestions, or concerns. You can contact conference support staff at: populationhearinghealthcare@xxxxxxxxx           

We encourage you to spread the word to others interested in looking at hearing health care from an epidemiological standpoint to serve under-represented groups.

 

Best regards,

Dr. Matthew Bush & Dr. Naomi Hixson – 2026 Scientific Conference Program Co-Chairs

Dr. Kelly Reavis and Dr. Michelle Arnold – Conference Chairs

This Conference is supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health Award Number R13DC020098

 

 

<1_PopHHC_blue_teal_banner.png>