Influence of Provider Interaction on Patient's Readiness Toward Audiological Services and Technology

Patients and providers recognize the importance of patient-centered care. Clinical interactions, however, suggest that audiologists maintain their traditional provider-centered approach.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which provider interaction influenced patient readiness toward audiological services using the neobehavioral concept of need recognition described in consumer decision-making.

We used a randomized, within-group experimental approach using survey responses to quantify predisposed expectations on ten dimensions toward service and technology provision 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after an audiological assessment. Responses were also categorized as a function of the respondent-perceived professional setting of the provider (medical, rehabilitation, and consumer electronics).

Survey respondents included 618 adults {186 males (mean age = 63.1 years; standard deviation [SD] = 5.3) and 432 females [mean age = 58.4 years; SD = 6.2]} from across the United States.

Data were analyzed using two approaches. First, we used a two-step cluster analysis procedure that revealed natural groupings (i.e., profiles) of respondent characteristics of the ten dimensions. Second, we compared within-group mean differences between pre- and postappointment responses using a univariate analysis of variance, with mean differences reported as a function of professional setting and preappointment responses serving as the control condition.

Results revealed that the predisposed expectation profiles among the ten dimensions differed among the professional settings, with rehabilitation having the highest mean response values and consumer electronics having the least mean response values. A descriptive analysis indicated that respondents in the rehabilitation and medical settings presented the greatest interest in amplification before the patient-provider interaction, but the least interest afterward. In addition, postappointment analyses revealed that providers failed statistically to meet patients' predisposed expectations in all three settings.

Overall, most respondents' predisposed expectations were unmet during their interaction with an audiologist. These expectations differed across professional settings, with the greatest unmet expectations observed in the rehabilitative and medical settings. Patient readiness is influenced by the behavior of the provider which, at present, appears to be a barrier to patients' acceptance of treatment options.