Journal Article

Bridging the Gap Between Hearing Screening and Successful Rehabilitation: Research Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Motivational Interviewing via Internet

Molander, Peter, Nordqvist, Peter, Andersson, Gerhard, Mikaela Weineland, Sandra, Hesser, Hugo, Lunner, Thomas, Carlbring, Per, Laplante-Lévesque, Ariane, Ingo, Elisabeth

2015

Overview

Studies point to low help-seeking after a failed hearing screening. This research forum article presents the research protocol for a randomized controlled trial of motivational interviewing via the Internet to promote help-seeking in people who have failed an online hearing screening. Adults who fail a Swedish online hearing screening, including a speech-in-noise recognition test, will be randomized to either an intervention group (participating in motivational interviewing) or an active control group (reading a book on history of hearing aids). Both of the conditions will be delivered via the Internet. The primary outcome is experience with seeking health care and using hearing aids 9 months after the intervention. Secondary outcomes are changes in before and after measures of self-reported hearing difficulties, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Stages of change and self-efficacy in hearing help-seeking are measured immediately after intervention and at a 9-month follow-up for the purpose of mediation analysis. The results of this randomized controlled trial may help bridge the gap between hearing screening and successful hearing rehabilitation. Although no large instantaneous benefits are expected, a slow change toward healthy behaviors—seeking health care and using hearing aids—would shed light on how to use the Internet to assist people with hearing impairment.

• Publisher: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Subject: Adults / Anxiety / Audiology / Auditory Evaluation / Behavior / Care and treatment / Clinical outcomes / Clinical trials / Cognition & reasoning / Control Groups / Correction of Hearing Impairment / Counseling / Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted - methods / Hard of Hearing / Health care / Health counseling / Health services / Hearing aids / Hearing loss / Hearing Loss - diagnosis / Hearing Loss - psychology / Hearing Loss - rehabilitation / Help seeking behavior / Humans / Internet / Intervention / Interviews / Mass Screening / Mediation / Medical screening / Methods / Motivation / Motivational interviewing / Motivational Interviewing - methods / Noise / Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology / Psychology / Psykologi / Quality of life / Referral and Consultation / Rehabilitation / Self Efficacy / Speech / Speech Reception Threshold Test - methods / Stages of change / Tests / Therapy, Computer-Assisted - methods