Document Type
Article
Publication Title
An exploration of quality of life perceptions of cochlear implant recipients and their frequent communication partners
Abstract
Purpose: Quality of life (QoL) after cochlear implantation has been investigated using a variety of QoL questionnaires. However, few studies have examined the perceived QoL of cochlear implant (CI) recipients compared between the recipient and a frequent communication partner (FCP) using both hearing-related (hearing-specific), and health-general (health-general) measures.
Method: For this multiple case study, five participant pairs were recruited, consisting of five adult recipients who were implanted at least six months prior to the time of evaluation, and five adult frequent communication partners who lived with the recipient at the time of evaluation. All ten participants (five pairs) completed a health-general questionnaire (Medical Outcome Study Short Form Survey 12, SF-12), and eight participants (four pairs) completed a disease specific questionnaire (Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire, NCIQ).
Results: Both recipients and partners tended to score similarly to each other on both measures. However, both groups scored higher on the SF-12 than the NCIQ. Results also revealed a better interrater agreement between pairs on the SF-12 compared to the NCIQ.
Conclusion: Overall, scores for recipients and partners were higher for the health-general SF-12 compared to the hearing-related NCIQ. Additionally, rater agreement was better for the SF-12 compared to the NCIQ, suggesting that differences in QoL perceptions exist for more hearing- specific challenges. These results highlight potential differences in perception of recipient QoL post-implantation as illustrated through the use of multiple quality of life measures. Results speak to the importance of open communication between recipients and partners.
Publication Date
2023
Recommended Citation
Bishop, J.L. & Flagge, A.G. (2023). An Exploration of Quality of Life Perceptions of Cochlear Implant Recipients and Their Frequent Communication Partners. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (SIG 7, Auditory Rehabilitation). doi: 10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00029.
Included in
Counseling Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Other Mental and Social Health Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Speech and Hearing Science Commons, Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons
Comments
This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Bishop, J.L. & Flagge, A.G. (2023). An Exploration of Quality of Life Perceptions of Cochlear Implant Recipients and Their Frequent Communication Partners. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (SIG 7, Auditory Rehabilitation). doi: 10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00029, which is published in its final form at https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00029. This article may not be used commercially or be enhanced, enriched, or transformed in any way without permission from the authors and publishers.