title: Does clinician continuity influence hearing aid outcomes?
abstract: To evaluate whether clinician continuity is associated with successful hearing aid outcomes.
  
  
  
  A prospective cohort study. Clinician continuity was defined as occurring when a patient was cared for by the same clinician for the hearing assessment, hearing aid selection process, hearing aid fitting and programming, and subsequent hearing aid fine tuning appointments. The hearing aid outcome measures included self-reported hearing aid use, benefit and satisfaction as well as self-reported handling skills and problems experienced with hearing aids.
  
  
  
  Four hundred and sixty-eight adult hearing aid users (mean age 73.9 years ±10.9) and 26 qualified audiologists (mean age 34 years ±6.34) recruited from a single hearing clinic in Perth, Western Australia.
  
  
  
  There were no significant differences in hearing aid outcomes between participants who experienced clinician continuity and those who did not.
  
  
  
  Within a controlled practice setting, hearing aid outcomes may not be adversely effected if services are provided by more than one clinician.
authors.affiliation: a Ear Science Institute Australia , Subiaco, Perth , Australia .|b Ear Sciences Centre, School of Surgery , The University of Western Australia , Nedlands, Perth , Australia .
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: c School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences , University of Queensland , St Lucia , Australia , and.
authors.forename: Carly
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: a Ear Science Institute Australia , Subiaco, Perth , Australia .|b Ear Sciences Centre, School of Surgery , The University of Western Australia , Nedlands, Perth , Australia .|d Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology , University of Pretoria , Pretoria , South Africa.
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Eikelboom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000072018:Audiologists; D001307:Auditory Perception; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hearing aid; clinician continuity; continuity of care; interpersonal continuity; outcomes; relational continuity