James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership in co-existing dementia and hearing conditions: a research agenda defined by people with lived experience and healthcare professionals.

BACKGROUND

Dementia and hearing conditions are both major public health concerns. Most people living with dementia also live with hearing conditions (e.g. hearing loss, tinnitus, vestibular disorders). Furthermore, hearing loss may be a risk factor for dementia. There is a critical need for research to explain the association between dementia and hearing conditions and to optimise assessments and treatments for this co-morbidity.

OBJECTIVE

This James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) aimed to develop an agenda for research about dementia and hearing conditions by systematically identifying unanswered research questions that are prioritised by people living with these conditions and professionals from healthcare and social care.

METHODS

Participants were people living with hearing conditions and/or dementia, supporters (e.g. carers, relatives), clinicians, and social care professionals. A survey (N = 404) gathered 47 research questions proposed by participants. An evidence-checking process confirmed that these questions were unanswered. A second survey (N = 560) produced a shortlist of 16 questions. At a final workshop (N = 19), the top 10 questions were prioritised.

RESULTS

The prioritised research questions spanned diverse topics, including training for clinicians about this co-morbidity, routine health checks that incorporate hearing and cognition, dementia risk reduction strategies for people living with hearing loss, and potential mechanisms underlying the link between hearing loss and dementia.

CONCLUSION

This novel JLA PSP was the first to identify research priorities for two different, yet co-morbid, health conditions. It has important implications for researchers, funders, commissioners, and clinicians, particularly those working with older adults who have multiple long-term conditions.