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Telehealth: evaluation of a website as a counseling support tool for parents of children fitted with hearing aids

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Author(s):
Bárbara Guimarães Bastos
Total Authors: 1
Document type: Master's Dissertation
Press: Bauru.
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB/SDB)
Defense date:
Examining board members:
Deborah Viviane Ferrari; Sergio Daré Junior; Adriane Lima Mortari Moret
Advisor: Deborah Viviane Ferrari
Abstract

Technical quality and content of the website Babies`Portal - Speech, Pathology and Audiology\", \"Hearing Aids\" section were assessed by audiologists and parents of hearing impaired children fitted with hearing aids (HA). Participated in the study: group A: 109 professionals (three men and 106 women) with mean age of 31.6 years, residing in the Southeast (n = 64), South (n = 23), North/Northeast/Midwest - NNC (n = 22) regions, who worked in private (n = 37) and public (n = 29) hospitals/clinics, universities (n = 28) and others (n = 15). Group B: 21 parents (15 men and six women), mean age 31.4 years, the majority of them resident in the Southeast regions. Participants completed anonymously an online questionnaire available on the website. The questionnaire comprised questions about demographics, internet use and the informational counseling provided at the time of hearing aid fitting. It also contained the Emory questionnaire for the assessment of the websites accuracy, authorship, updates, public, navigation, links and structure (group A) as well as questions regarding the websites content (groups A and B). For group A no significant differences were found between regions and workplace with regard to satisfaction with available time and performance in the informational counseling sessions. Group B was satisfied with information counseling provided at the time of HA fitting. Educational materials were provided for only 52.4% of parents. Emory subscales scores were over 4,5. Small but significant differences were found between the navigation subscales and accuracy, authorship, public and external links subscales as well as between structure subscale and authorship, public and external links. There were no differences in technical evaluation between regions or workplace indicating the suitability of the website for different regions and populations served in different services. The professionals evaluated the website\'s content as being good or very good. There were differences between the scores assigned to the contents \"hearing aid types\" and \"hearing aid care and maintenance\". Small but significant differences were found for the contents \"choosing the best hearing aids for your child\", \"hearing aid care and maintenance\", \"hearing aid insertion and removal, unilateral or bilateral hearing aid use, \"hearing aid parts\" and \"telephone use\" between region and workplace, thus indicating the need for their improvement. For group B no differences were found between contents scores. The total content score and overall satisfaction with the website were correlated to the hearing impaired childs age, duration of hearing aid use and prior knowledge about hearing aids. The website was considered by the participants as being useful to complement the informational counseling provided to parents of hearing impaired children at the time of hearing aid fitting. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 08/07963-0 - Telehealth: evaluation of a website as a counseling support tool for parents of children fitted with hearing aids
Grantee:Bárbara Guimarães Bastos
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master