Development process and user experiences of an online support program for first-time hearing aid users
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Published on: March 24, 2023
Sandra Ahlberg1,2, Linda Ivarsson2, K Jonas Brännström1
1Logopedics, Phoniatrics and Audiology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Purpose:
Many with hearing loss do not recognize their need for support or may struggle to acknowledge and accept their hearing difficulties, and when one receives hearing aids for the first time, many feel the need for more information and support during their rehabilitation process. The present article describes the development process of an online program in Swedish that supports first-time hearing aid users in an interleaved manner with the traditional audiological rehabilitation at the clinic.
Method:
In this formative evaluation study, the outline and content of the program was inspired by existing literature and informed by clinical expertise. The program was implemented within the Swedish national health portal. At the end of an iterative development process, four first-time and seven experienced hearing aid users evaluated the program in parallel to the provision of their new hearing aids and provided structured feedback on comprehension, relevance, manageability and ease of use to inform further development.
Outcomes:
Participant feedback identified the need for some minor changes but that the program was considered useful to first-time hearing aid users, comprehensible, relevant and manageable.
Conclusions:
The evaluation from the end-users demonstrated that all parts of the online support program were relevant for first-time hearing aid users, and that it was manageable and easy to use. However, content regarding assistive listening devices was deemed less relevant and some participants experienced difficulties with logging in to the national health portal.
