Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

American Journal of Audiology

Publisher

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Publication Date

2019

First Page

1

Last Page

43

Abstract

Purpose: Counseling practices in audiology play a critical role in helping patients and families understand, accept, and adjust to the dynamic impacts ear related disorders have on their lives. The purpose of this study was to identify what competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) are important for audiologists to possess to provide effective counseling in practice.

Method: A modified Delphi study design was used to survey a panel of thirty-three professionals with expertise in audiologic counseling from five different countries. In the first survey round, experts were asked to respond to three open-ended prompts. Responses were condensed and revised into items experts were asked to rate during the second and third survey rounds, on a 6-point Likert scale of importance.

Results: A total of 819 items were generated from the open-ended prompts. A total of 72 items were included in the second and third round survey instruments. Consensus was met on 64 audiologic counseling competency items.

Conclusion: The competency items identified in this study reflect important knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are important to audiologic counseling. Items that met consensus in this study can inform competencies audiology students can acquire during graduate training. Practice guidelines in the field currently lack the necessary clarity and detail needed for implementation of counseling competencies in clinical education. Future research is needed to explore factors important for implementation of evidence-based counseling training in graduate audiology programs.

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