VALIDATION OF A INTERVENTION PROGRAM TO A EFFECTIVE USE OF HEARING DEVICES IN CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT
Correction of Hearing Impairment; Hearing Aids; Child; Family; Treatment Adherence and Compliance
Purpose: To analyze the effectiveness of an intervention program for children with hearing impairment and their family members/caregivers for the effective use of hearing devices. Method: this is a mixed method, methodological and applied research, intervention with experimental design, approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the proposing institution. The sample consists of 60 children with mild to profound sensorineural hearing loss and their respective guardians. In study 1, with methodological design, the cross-cultural adaptation of the Parent Hearing Aid Management Inventory into Brazilian Portuguese was presented in Article 1, an instrument that will be used in data collection before and after the intervention program. In study 2, with an exploratory, descriptive and prospective design, the time of use of the devices is characterized by collecting datalogging from part of the children in the total sample. In order to carry out the intervention program, the children and their families will be evaluated in advance, through the collection instruments: datalogging of their hearing aids, as well as questionnaires that investigate the self-reported use and the benefit with the devices in the view of the children and their relatives. In the inferential analysis, the pre-intervention and post-intervention data of the control and experimental groups will be compared. Preliminary Results: the adaptation of the inventory, in Brazilian Portuguese, called Inventário de Manejo dos Instrumentos Auditivos pela Família was presented. The intervention program was prepared and revised and the evaluation of the time of use of the hearing aids by the sample began, considering its trajectory of use. Final Considerations: confirmation of the hypothesis raised about the increase in hours of use of hearing devices in children is expected, based on the application of the proposed intervention protocol. If positive results are observed, implementation at the Suvag/RN Hearing Rehabilitation Center and other Hearing Health services/specialized Rehabilitation Centers will be proposed.