Stages of change in audiology: comparison of three self-assessment measures

Abstract

Objective: In a clinical setting, theories of health behaviour change could help audiologists and other hearing health care professionals understand the barriers that prevent people with hearing problems to seek audiological help. The transtheoretical (stages of change) model of health behaviour change is one of these theories. It describes a person’s journey towards health behaviour change (e.g. seeking help or taking up rehabilitation) in separate stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and, finally, maintenance. A short self-assessment measure of stages of change may guide the clinician and facilitate first appointments. This article describes correlations between three stages of change measures of different lengths, one 24-item and two one-item. Design: Participants were recruited through an online hearing screening study. Adults who failed the speech-in-noise recognition screening test and who had never undergone a hearing aid fitting were invited to complete further questionnaires online, including the three stages of change measures. Study sample: In total, 224 adults completed the three measures. Results: A majority of the participants were categorised as being in one of the information- and help-seeking stage of change (contemplation or preparation). The three stages of change measures were significantly correlated. Conclusions Our results support further investigating the use of a one-item measure to determine stages of change in people with hearing impairment.

Key Words:

• Hearing screening
• motivation
• stages of change

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Carl Åke Farbring for sharing his Swedish translation of the URICA and Peter Nordqvist and Peter Molander for assistance with participant recruitment, screening implementation, and data collection as part of the online hearing screening. The authors acknowledge the valuable input of Sophie Månsson, Elicia Volt, and Katarina Wojtania to this study. This study was partially funded by a programme grant from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (2009-0055).

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.