Supporting older adults’ mental health: a Delphi survey identifying audiology best practices

This study aimed to gather opinions and establish consensus among audiologists and patients on supporting individuals with mental health concerns in audiology settings. Utilising a modified electronic Delphi survey, a panel of 25 experts engaged in three rounds of data collection over 12 weeks. Participants provided open-text responses in Round 1 describing “clinical practices that can be employed to support to patients presenting with mental health concerns”, and the research team combined these with relevant clinical practices from literature searches. In subsequent rounds, panellists then rated their level of agreement with the combined list of statements; individually (Round 2) and again after seeing the panel’s collated responses (Round 3). Panel experts included 11 patients (adults with hearing loss; M_age 73.8 years) and 14 audiologists (with M 11.8 years of experience working in audiology). Consensus was met for 123 items categorised into: Detection, Education, Effective Communication, Provision of Emotional Support, Personal Qualities and Attitudes of the Audiologist, Interventions, Connecting the Patient to Additional Support Services, Normal Processes that are Especially Important in these Cases, and Organisational Considerations. The study highlights the diversity of approaches audiologists can employ to support patients with mental health concerns.