Improving the Use of Amplification for Adults with Hearing Loss (V1.0)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of a behavioural intervention to improve the use of amplification using the Person-Based Approach
IRAS ID
291641
Contact name
Helen Henshaw
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
The NHS is the largest supplier of hearing aids in the UK (1.2million per year), with approximately 400,000 provided to first-time users. Hearing aid non-use results in an unnecessary waste of NHS funds. For those who are prescribed hearing aids, the process of adjustment and use is a novel health behaviour. Behaviour change interventions encourage patients to take control over the management of long-term conditions, thus benefiting the patient and the healthcare service.
The Person-Based Approach to intervention development engages with end-users at all stages of the process to include the perspectives of those who will use the intervention. This approach advocates the use of in-depth qualitative methods to understand the experiences of the target user in order to maximise intervention uptake, adherence and outcomes.
The purpose of this study is to use the Person-Based Approach to generate a behavioural intervention that is designed to improve the use of amplification by adults with hearing loss.
This study will involve semi-structured prospective and retrospective interviews, and Think Aloud interviews to:
I. To identify barriers and facilitators to the use of hearing aids by exploring the experiences, psychosocial and behavioural needs, and challenges of a range of adults with hearing loss who own them.
II. To develop a theory-guided behavioural intervention designed to improve the use of hearing aids.
III. To gather feedback from NHS hearing aid patients about their experiences of using the behavioural intervention and to iteratively refine the intervention based on that feedback.
IV. To consult with key stakeholders throughout the research project to ensure contextual and clinical relevance of the intervention.
The results of this study will inform future work to assess the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial in the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the behavioural intervention for NHS first time hearing aid users.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/0259
Date of REC Opinion
15 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion