Laplante-Levesque Wins Award For Motivation Research

By Timothy Cooke

The American Auditory Society has awarded Ariane Laplante-Levesque, Louise Hickson, and Linda Worrall with the 2013 Ear and Hearing Editor's Award for their research article on how the transtheoretical model of change can be applied in audiological rehabilitation.The transtheoretical model forms the foundation for the Ida Institute’s Motivation Tools.

The study found that the predictive validity of the stages-of-change model was rather good. The stages-of-change model can help support people with hearing impairment throughout their journey, from help-seeking to successful rehabilitation outcomes.

For the study, 153 adults with acquired hearing loss who were seeking help for the first time completed the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) questionnaire and other measures. This helped determine the stage-of-change for each participant (pre-contemplation, contemplation, action, etc.).

Participants were then offered three options for intervention: hearing instruments, communication programs, or no intervention. After six months, the participant’s intervention outcomes were assessed.

The study found that the predictive validity of the stages-of-change model in this population were rather good. Of all the stages, the precontemplation stage score had the best predictive validity. Those participants were more likely to have milder hearing impairment, less self-reported hearing disability, and a more recent hearing impairment onset. High precontemplation scores were also associated with lower intervention uptake and less successful intervention outcomes.

The study is part of a broader set of ongoing research on Health Behavior Change in Adults with Hearing Impairment carried out by Eriksholm Research Center in collaboration with the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Ariane Laplante-Levesque is a project manager and research audiologist at Eriksholm Research Center. She received the 2013 Ear and Hearing Editor’s Award for the following paper:

Laplante-Lévesque A, Hickson L, Worrall L. (2013) Stages of change in adults with acquired hearing impairment seeking help for the first time: Application of the transtheoretical model in audiologic rehabilitation, Ear Hear, 34(4), 447-457.