Abstract
Hearing aids are a demonstrated efficacious intervention for age-related hearing loss,
and research suggests that good hearing loss self-management skills improve amplification
satisfaction and outcomes. One way to foster self-management skills is through the
provision of patient education materials. However, many of the available resources
related to the management of hearing loss do not account for health literacy and are
not suitable for use with adults from varying health literacy backgrounds. To address
this issue, we developed the Hearing Loss Toolkit for Self-Management as part of a manualized, best practices hearing intervention used in large clinical
trial. We incorporated health literacy recommendations from the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in a series of modules that address a variety
of common problem areas reported by adults with hearing loss. A formative assessment
consisting of feedback questionnaires, semistructured interviews, and a focus group
session with representatives from the target audience was conducted. Findings from
the development assessment process demonstrate that the Hearing Loss Toolkit for Self-Management is suitable for use with adults with age-related hearing loss who have varying health
literacy backgrounds and abilities.
Keywords
patient education - age-related hearing loss - health literacy - hearing aids
