Ida Institute Presents Online Course with Louise Hickson on Audiology Online

By Timothy Cooke

In partnership with Audiology Online, the Ida Institute is happy to present a free, online course conducted by Ida Advisory Board Co-Chair Louise Hickson on Evidence-Based Approaches to Rehabilitation Options for Adults with Hearing Loss.

The course can be accessed by visiting the Audiology Online Website.

In the course, Louise Hickson provides an overview of clinical research on shared decision making and how audiologists present intervention options to adults seeking to address their hearing loss for the first time. She suggests that the Ida Motivation Tools (The Line, The Box, and The Circle) can help audiologists manage the process of shared decision making and help clients choose appropriate rehabilitation options.

The course begins by exploring the concept of shared decision making and evaluating the importance of the concept for audiologists. Next, Hickson describes the results of a recent clinical trial on shared decision making in audiologic rehabilitation. This trial provides useful insights into the rehabilitation approaches new patients select when given options for hearing care. Finally, she provides evidence about shared decision making in audiological rehabilitation and suggests the clinical implementations of this new research.

Louise Hickson, Ph.D. is Professor of Audiology and Head of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Queensland, Australia. She is also Co-Director of the Communication Disability Centre at that University. Her most recent book is “Evidence-Based Practice in Audiology: Evaluating Interventions for Children and Adults with Hearing Impairment” (2012, Plural Publishing).