The Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit won first prize in the clinical science poster category at the British Academy of Audiology Conference this November. Their winning poster highlighted the interim results of the unit’s ongoing research on the clinical benefits of using the Ida Motivation Tools with patients.
Based on the interim results, it appears that the patient group who received counseling with the Ida Motivation Tools showed an increase in reported self-efficacy and confidence in using their hearing instruments between the initial assessment and hearing aid fitting. While the research is still ongoing, this interim sample from the feasibility study suggests that the use of motivational engagement could have the potential to increase patient confidence in following recommended interventions.
The research on the Ida Motivation Tools is a collaborative effort between the NIHR Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit and the Nottingham University Hospitals Audiology Services. The aims of the research were to assess the feasibility of implementing the Motivation Tools within NHS audiology clinics and ascertain the supplementary benefits to service provision and delivery.
To get a better sense of the effectiveness of the Motivation Tools, all patients who are participating in the study will be evaluated using a series of post-intervention outcome measures twelve weeks after their first consultation. The data collection is currently underway, and when complete, it will help shed more light on the effectiveness of the Ida Motivation Tools.
“We want to make sure that we can capture the effects of motivational engagement, so we are using a number of different outcomes to measure readiness, self-efficacy, hearing aid use and benefit, as well as service evaluation” states Holly Thomas, Research Audiologist at the NIHR Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit and lead poster author. “It will be interesting to see whether it affects hearing aid usage, and to see whether there is any correlation between the self-efficacy line and the questionnaire that we are using. If they do correlate, then it would support our interim results.”
To prepare for the research projects, audiologists at Nottingham Audiology Services participated in a three-day training program on how to use the Ida Motivation Tools in their busy, clinical appointments. From the training, they found that tools were not time consuming to use in the appointment and could easily replace generic parts of the patient history without detriment to the quality of patient care. Results from this training program are summarized in last year’s winning BAA poster.
“The Motivation Tools are a really good way of asking the patient an open-ended question and empowering them to give the audiologist some specific information about their hearing and their lifestyle,” states Holly Thomas. “I do think that they can be a very good addition to a training regiment, as it can help students learn how to be more patient-centered in their appointments.”
The authors of the winning poster include Holly Thomas, Emily Balmer, Naomi Russell, Zoe Slinger, Joanne Thompson, Will Brassington, and Melanie Ferguson.