Relationship of readability and suitability of a hearing aid user guide and self-efficacy of hearing aid users : a pilot study

摘要

The aim of this study is to investigate whether revising an existing hearing aid user guide is associated with increased Hearing-Aid Self-efficacy of hearing aid users. In Part One, a hearing aid user guide was revised to bring readability and suitability in-line with the recommendations for written healthcare material. In Part Two, participants were provided with either the original guide (OG) or revised guide (RG). Self-efficacy was measured using the Measure of Audiological Rehabilitation Self-efficacy for Hearing Aids (MARS-HA). The participants’ performance on hearing aid management tasks was also measured using a purpose-developed Utility test. There was a statistically significant relationship between user guide version and self-efficacy for both the Basic Handling Subscale (BHS; p = .008, Cohen’s d= .858) and Advanced Handling Subscale (AHS; p = .045, Cohen’s d= .722) scales of the MARS-HA. There was also a significant relationship between user guide version and Utility test score (p = .001, Cohen’s d= 1.26). These results are encouraging as they indicate that there is scope to influence self-efficacy through the use of appropriate hearing aid user guides.