Age-related hearing loss and provider-patient communication across primary and secondary care settings: a cross-sectional study.
age-related hearing loss
communication
medical error
older people
primary care
secondary care
Journal
Age and ageing
ISSN: 1468-2834
Titre abrégé: Age Ageing
Pays: England
ID NLM: 0375655
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
24 08 2020
24 08 2020
Historique:
received:
07
10
2019
pubmed:
8
4
2020
medline:
29
7
2021
entrez:
8
4
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The prevalence of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) increases with age. Older adults are amongst the most dependent users of healthcare and most vulnerable to medical error. This study examined health professionals' strategies, as well as level of formal training completed, for communication with older adults with ARHL, and their views on the contribution of ARHL to suboptimal quality of patient care. A 17-item questionnaire was distributed to a sample of Irish primary care physicians, as well as hospital-based clinicians providing inpatient palliative care and geriatric services. A total of 172 primary care physicians and 100 secondary care providers completed the questionnaire. A total of 154 (90%) primary and 97 (97%) secondary care providers agreed that ARHL had a negative impact on quality of care. Across both settings, 10% of respondents reported that communication issues contributed to multiple medication error events each year. Although only 3.5% of secondary care providers and 13% of primary care physicians attended formal training on communication with hearing-impaired patients, 66.5% of respondents were confident in their capacity to communicate with these patients. Primary care physicians reported that they either never used assistive hearing technology (44%) or were unfamiliar with this technology (49%). Primary and secondary care health providers reported that ARHL reduces patient care quality and may initiate errors leading to patient harm. Formal training addressing the communication needs of ARHL patients appears to be underdeveloped, and there is a limited familiarity with assistive hearing technology. This is both an error in health professional training and healthcare services.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) increases with age. Older adults are amongst the most dependent users of healthcare and most vulnerable to medical error. This study examined health professionals' strategies, as well as level of formal training completed, for communication with older adults with ARHL, and their views on the contribution of ARHL to suboptimal quality of patient care.
METHODS
A 17-item questionnaire was distributed to a sample of Irish primary care physicians, as well as hospital-based clinicians providing inpatient palliative care and geriatric services.
RESULTS
A total of 172 primary care physicians and 100 secondary care providers completed the questionnaire. A total of 154 (90%) primary and 97 (97%) secondary care providers agreed that ARHL had a negative impact on quality of care. Across both settings, 10% of respondents reported that communication issues contributed to multiple medication error events each year. Although only 3.5% of secondary care providers and 13% of primary care physicians attended formal training on communication with hearing-impaired patients, 66.5% of respondents were confident in their capacity to communicate with these patients. Primary care physicians reported that they either never used assistive hearing technology (44%) or were unfamiliar with this technology (49%).
CONCLUSIONS
Primary and secondary care health providers reported that ARHL reduces patient care quality and may initiate errors leading to patient harm. Formal training addressing the communication needs of ARHL patients appears to be underdeveloped, and there is a limited familiarity with assistive hearing technology. This is both an error in health professional training and healthcare services.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32253433
pii: 5816672
doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa041
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
873-877Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.