Interprofessional recognition of audiology scope of practice in hearing and balance care: Evidence from the University of Sharjah

Abstract

Objective Clear recognition of professional scope of practice (SOP) supports timely referral and effective interprofessional care in hearing and balance services. While audiology’s role in hearing assessment is well recognised, understanding of its broader scope, particularly in vestibular care during professional training, remains unclear. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional online questionnaire was administered to health-sciences students and faculty. Scenario-based classification tasks assessed attribution of audiology SOP across hearing-loss diagnosis, balance-disorder care, and a multidisciplinary vignette involving hearing loss with dizziness. A composite SOP recognition outcome was derived and logistic regression identified predictors of full SOP recognition. Results A total of 235 participants were analysed (95.7% students). Recognition of audiology’s role in hearing-loss diagnosis was high (90.0%). Attribution in balance-disorder care was lower (73.0%) and more variable. Audiology was included in the multidisciplinary vignette by 85.6% of respondents. Full SOP recognition was observed in 71.2%. Higher audiology awareness was independently associated with full SOP recognition (OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.34–2.42). Conclusions While audiology’s role in hearing care is widely recognised, scope attribution remains variable in vestibular and multidisciplinary contexts. Given the predominance of pre-licensure students in the sample, findings should be interpreted as reflecting professional role conceptualisation during training rather than established clinical practice. These findings highlight the importance of explicit role clarification within health-sciences education to support consistent and effective interprofessional engagement across hearing and balance care pathways.