A qualitative study showing that a telecare tool can have benefits before and during the initial hearing assessment appointment

Abstract

Objective

To examine patient and audiologist experiences and perspectives of using a patient-centred telecare tool, the Ida Institute’s Why Improve My Hearing? (WIMH) Tool, before and during the initial hearing assessment appointment.

Design

A qualitative study comprising individual semi-structured interviews using a maximum variation sampling strategy. The data were analysed using an established thematic analysis technique.

Study sample

Fifteen participants, including ten patients (i.e. adults with hearing loss) and five audiologists, were recruited from Adult Audiology Services within the United Kingdom’s publicly-funded National Health Service (NHS).

Results

Three themes described the impact of using the WIMH Tool. Theme 1 (i.e. enhanced preparation before the appointment): the Tool helps patients to better understand and accept their hearing difficulties in advance of their first appointment. Theme 2 (i.e. enriched discussion during the appointment): the tool can enhance patient-centred communication, as well as the efficiency of the appointment. Theme 3 (i.e. varied impact on outcomes following the appointment): the Tool can improve patient motivation, readiness, and involvement in decision-making, though it may have limited impact on additional outcomes, such as adherence.

Conclusion

The WIMH Tool can be successfully implemented in audiological practice, resulting in benefits before and during the initial hearing assessment appointment.

Keywords:

• Patient-centred care
• readiness
• telecare
• age-related hearing loss
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ida Institute for funding this study. We would also like to thank Daljit Mehton for coordinating the study, Naomi Russell for training audiologists to use the WIMH Tool, and the patients and audiologists at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust who took part in this research.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Research Authority South Central – Oxford C Research Ethics Committee of the National Health Service (NHS), as well as Research and Innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Additional supporting data are not available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This research was co-funded by the Ida Institute and the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.