Can you hear me? Physicians’ attitudes and knowledge on the principles of communicating with hearing-impaired older adult

Abstract

Background: Hearing impairment is a prevalent barrier to communication that significantly affects older adults. This study explores family physicians' knowledge and attitudes towards communicating with hearing-impaired older patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among family physicians at Clalit Healthcare Services clinics in southern Israel. The study included a video illustrating 12 common errors made when communicating with hearing-impaired older patients. Results: Among the 101 participating family physicians, only 15.8% reported adequate training in medical school on treating these patients, and 17.8% during residency. On average, physicians identified 2.25 ± 1.35 errors of the 12 possible ones shown in the video. Ten physicians (9.9%) failed to identify any errors. Twenty-three (22.8%) identified one error, 25 (24.8%) found two, and 24 (23.8%) identified three, thirteen (11.9%) four, and 6 (5.9%) found five mistakes. No participant identified six or more mistakes. The only statistically significant variable for identifying more than three communication errors was the physician's perceived low or very low comfort level with communication skills during visits with hearing-impaired older adults (OR = 0.337, 95% CI: 0.126—0.900, p = 0.030). Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of ongoing medical education programs to improve communication strategies for healthcare providers treating hearing-impaired older adults.