Jerry L Punch1, Rose Hitt2, Sandi W Smith2. 1. Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Herbert J. Oyer Speech & Hearing Center, Michigan State University, 1026 Red Cedar Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States. Electronic address: jpunch@msu.edu. 2. Department of Communication, Michigan State University, United States.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify multidimensional factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for use in developing an inventory in which HRQoL is a core concept in evaluating the impact of hearing loss and the efficacy of rehabilitative interventions. METHOD: A qualitative approach was used in which we posed two major questions to a focus group consisting of eight adults with self-reported, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss of varying degrees. In essence, those questions were: (1) How do you define quality of life?, and (2) Can you describe specific incidents in your everyday life in which your hearing loss has impacted your quality of life? The discussion was embedded within a framework that utilized a modification of the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). We used well-established analytic techniques to translate the data into unitized thought units, which we coded into meaningful categories. Response frequency was used to determine the salience of responses in addressing the research questions. RESULTS: Participants defined QoL in terms of a number of primary dimensions, most of which were directly or indirectly associated with specific recalled incidents in which those dimensions have played a notable role in contributing to their QoL. CONCLUSIONS: The use of well-established methods to gather and analyze qualitative data generated by self-report techniques offers a promising direction for developing a standardized inventory for identifying the factors that impact QoL for persons with hearing loss and for evaluating the success of intervention strategies aimed at improving their HRQoL.
OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify multidimensional factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for use in developing an inventory in which HRQoL is a core concept in evaluating the impact of hearing loss and the efficacy of rehabilitative interventions. METHOD: A qualitative approach was used in which we posed two major questions to a focus group consisting of eight adults with self-reported, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss of varying degrees. In essence, those questions were: (1) How do you define quality of life?, and (2) Can you describe specific incidents in your everyday life in which your hearing loss has impacted your quality of life? The discussion was embedded within a framework that utilized a modification of the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). We used well-established analytic techniques to translate the data into unitized thought units, which we coded into meaningful categories. Response frequency was used to determine the salience of responses in addressing the research questions. RESULTS:Participants defined QoL in terms of a number of primary dimensions, most of which were directly or indirectly associated with specific recalled incidents in which those dimensions have played a notable role in contributing to their QoL. CONCLUSIONS: The use of well-established methods to gather and analyze qualitative data generated by self-report techniques offers a promising direction for developing a standardized inventory for identifying the factors that impact QoL for persons with hearing loss and for evaluating the success of intervention strategies aimed at improving their HRQoL.
Authors: Connie M Sears; Amee D Azad; Linus Amarikwa; Brandon H Pham; Clara J Men; Daniel N Kaplan; Jocelyn Liu; Andrew R Hoffman; Austin Swanson; Jennifer Alyono; Jennifer Y Lee; Chrysoula Dosiou; Andrea L Kossler Journal: Am J Ophthalmol Date: 2022-02-25 Impact factor: 5.488
Authors: Rahul Mittal; Nicole Bencie; George Liu; Nicolas Eshraghi; Eric Nisenbaum; Susan H Blanton; Denise Yan; Jeenu Mittal; Christine T Dinh; Juan I Young; Feng Gong; Xue Zhong Liu Journal: Gene Date: 2020-07-29 Impact factor: 3.688
Authors: Heather L Thompson; Ann Blanton; Barbara Franklin; Vanessa L Merker; Kevin H Franck; D Bradley Welling Journal: Neurology Date: 2021-07-06 Impact factor: 11.800