Audiologists' communication behaviour during hearing device management appointments.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this exploratory study was to describe audiologist communication behaviours during appointments for hearing device monitoring and management before and after participation in counselling skills training.

DESIGN

The study used a longitudinal design with three assessment points over 6 months.

STUDY SAMPLE: The sample included 10 audiologists and audiology graduate students interacting in a professional setting with their clients.

RESULTS

Audiologists reported improvement in their counselling skills from pre-training to follow-up, which was consistent with objective findings that audiologist relative speaking time decreased from pre-training to post-training as well as from pre-training to follow-up. Observer-rated scores of participants' counselling skills; however, yielded no significant differences across time.

CONCLUSIONS

Some improvement was noted in audiologists' counselling behaviour following a 1-day communication skills workshop and continued learning support. It is evident; however, that further training, such as increased training and performance feedback, is needed to maintain and enhance audiologist progress in the various aspects of counselling.