At the Ida Institute, we see patient motivation as the key to success. Our Motivation Tools are our most popular, and are where hearing care professionals usually start with Ida. So it’s always gratifying to see studies that support our work.
A new study confirms that patient motivation is related to adopting hearing aids. “Autonomous Motivation is Associated with Hearing Aid Adoption” appeared in the March issue of the International Journal of Audiology.
The authors examined 253 participants “who had sought information on their hearing loss but had not consulted a hearing professional.” They used a questionnaire to rate the patients’ motivations, asking questions such as: “I’ve carefully thought about hearing aids and believe that getting them is the right thing to do” and “I personally believe that doing something about my hearing will improve my quality of life.”
One hundred twenty-five participants who had adopted hearing aids, meaning that they had been fitted with hearing aids within four to six months of completing the questionnaire. Their motivation levels were scored based on a points system, and it was found that for each one-point increase, participants were 55% more likely to adopt hearing aids.
The study states, “Autonomous motivation is therefore an important consideration for the adoption of health-related behaviours… including for adults contemplating hearing aid adoption.”
The study was conducted by Jason Rideway and Louise Hickson from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and Christopher Lind from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Louise is a member of the Ida Advisory Board, and Christopher recently participated in our Tele-health process.
The full paper can be downloaded through Informa Healthcare.