Co-designing interventions to increase referrals from general practice to audiology in Victoria, Australia

Co-design interventions with GPs to increase referrals from general medical practice to hearing care.

In phase one of this intervention design study, three focus groups informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) were conducted to explore perceived barriers and enablers to audiology referral for Australian GPs. In phase two, interventions aimed at addressing barriers and strengthening enablers were co-designed by GPs and the research team during three workshops.

Twenty GPs in Victoria, Australia, participated in three focus groups and one co-design workshop.

Key barriers to referral were a lack of knowledge of costs/funding; low trust in audiologists, a reliance on patients raising hearing concerns, negative beliefs about hearing rehabilitation, and competing clinical priorities. Key enablers were good relationships and communication between GPs and local audiologists, awareness of the impacts and co-morbidities of hearing loss and the social impacts of interventions, and having specified ages for comprehensive health checks (including hearing). Two interventions were proposed: a digital software prompt to encourage GPs to refer suitable older patients, and an online resource package including a digital referral form.

We identified high-priority barriers and enablers to be addressed by theory-informed interventions in clinical practice.