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THE HARK PROJECT
 BRIEF OVERVIEW
VISION
OBJECTIVES
HARK SITES
SERVICES OFFERED
PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY |
Brief
Overview 
The HARK Project forms the outreach programme of the Deaf Child Centre. HARK, which
stands for 'Hearing Assessment and Research Centre', aims to deliver the audiological
services offered at the Deaf Child Centre within the communities of the Western Cape.
Vision
 To provide an audiological service for hearing impaired children in areas
with
inadequate resources
To focus on early intervention
To develop a sustainable model in service delivery for hearing impaired
children
Objectives
Audiological service:
Screening
Ear Care
Diagnostic and audiological evaluations
Hearing aid evaluation and fitting
Parent training programmes
Development of communication skills
Educational support
To empower
families of hearing impaired children:
To provide parent training programmes including educational advocacy,
information giving, support and the development of communication
strategies
and skills
Involvement
of deaf personnel and liaison with DEAFSA and DCCT
Involvement
of student support and training from UCT
Research
Outcome
measures
Education
of other professionals regarding hearing impairment
Increase
public awareness regarding hearing impairment
To develop
and promote referrals and networking in the field of deafness
in the Western Cape
A partnership was arranged between UCT and the Commonwealth Society for the Deaf (a
British welfare organisation), for the purpose of the HARK project. The Society provided
the sophisticated HARK vehicle - a Land Rover 'Defender' - an insulated body of a
walk-thru design, with airconditioning, hot/cold water supply, twin circuit electrics and
its own independent generator. In addition, the CSD provided the audiology equipment for
the project and the salaries of the two South African audiologists for 3 years. The
project was launched in May 1999. For more information on the CSD, visit their website at
www.sound-seekers.org.uk
In order to ensure that the
project was implemented within existing infrastructure and in accordance with existing
referral pathways (thereby encouraging sustainability), the HARK team has been working
closely with the Western Cape Health Department (as well as the Education Department,
University of Cape Town, DEAFSA and deaf schools), from the inception of the project.
On the recommendation of the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape Health
Department, a phased in approach in the implementation of the project has been adopted,
whereby two of the four health regions of the Western Cape are initially serviced. The
project is therefore currently servicing primary and secondary health care sites within
the Metropole and Boland/ Overberg regions of the Western Cape.
Working group committees within these two regions were established in June 1999 and sites
chosen for the pilot phase of the project. The sites for the Metropole region include:
Wesfleur Hospital (Blaauwberg), Brown's Farm Day Hospital (City of Cape Town), Somerset
West Clinic (Helderberg) and Michael Mapomgwuana Hospital, Khayelitsha (City of
Tygerberg). Sites for the Boland/ Overberg region include Ceres, Ashton, Hermanus,
Caledon, Grabouw and Worcester. Monthly visits are made to each of these sites (Tuesdays
and Wednesdays) and Worcester is visited every week on a Thursday.
Hark Sites
The HARK Project aims to follow a
Primary Health Care Approach, as outlined by the World Health Organisation (1978).
The following principles therefore serve to guide the project:
Interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration
Maximum community participation in health and health care
Consumer accessibility to health and health services
Appropriate use of technologies such as resources and strategies
Health promotion and prevention of illness and disability.
Services
Offered
Audiological screening and diagnostic testing
Hearing aid fittings, evaluations and follow-ups
Counselling of parents/caregivers with a hearing impaired child
Parent training for those caring for a hearing impaired child
Advice and management regarding the speech and language development of
the
hearing impaired child
Educational placement and support
Training and support of professionals on the prevention, identification
and
management of the child with an ear or hearing
disorder
Public awareness workshops regarding the prevention, identification and
management of the child with an ear or hearing disorder
Project
Sustainability
A primary vision of the Deaf Child Centre is to develop a model service delivery and to attempt to obtain sustainability following a three to five year period. It is hoped that by establishing this service delivery, this will in turn motivate the Department of Health and the Education Department in sustaining such projects in the two provinces in the future. Deaf Child Centre's HARK Project has proved to be instrumental in securing a permanent post for a speech therapist/audiologist in the Boland Overberg region of the Western Cape. It is hoped that by continuing to show the need for such posts in other rural areas, similar posts will be created in the other regions serviced by HARK. In addition, the success of the Deaf Child Centre Classes has resulted in the creation of four teacher posts by the Department of Education. The Deaf Child Centre will continue to lobby for the creation of deaf signing assistant posts at deaf schools.
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