An Australian survey of audiologists' preferences for patient-centredness.
OBJECTIVE
Patient-centredness is becoming a core value of health services worldwide, however it remains largely unexplored in audiology. This study investigated audiologists' preferences for patient-centredness and identified factors that explain audiologists' preferences for patient-centredness.


METHODS
All members of the Audiological Society of Australia received two questionnaires: (1) a descriptive questionnaire (e.g. age, gender, place of residence, years in practice, employment characteristics), and (2) a modified patient-practitioner orientation scale (PPOS; Krupat et al, 2000) which measures preferences for two aspects of patient-centredness, sharing and caring.


METHODS
In total 663 (46%) audiologists returned both questionnaires fully completed.


RESULTS
Mean PPOS scores indicated that audiologists prefer patient-centredness. Linear regression modelling identified that older audiologists, that had practiced longer, and who worked in community education, industrial audiology, or teaching had a significantly greater preference for patient-centredness than their peers. In contrast, audiologists who practiced in a private environment and who worked in the area of assessment of adults had a significantly lesser preference for patient-centredness than their peers.


CONCLUSIONS
Audiologists prefer client-centredness and age, years of experience, and employment characteristics can partly explain preferences for patient-centredness. Future research should explore the relationships between patient-centredness and intervention outcomes in audiology.
* Eriksholm Research Centre , Snekkersten , Denmark.
Ariane
A
Laplante-Lévesque
Louise
L
Hickson
Caitlin
C
Grenness
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001298:Audiology / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001315:Australia; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006309:Hearing; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires