Automated Text Message Reminders to Promote Hearing Healthcare Access - Pilot Study
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Stanford University
- Enrollment
- 41
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Likelihood of patient-physician discussion of hearing loss or hearing assessment
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Many individuals with hearing loss do not receive adequate hearing healthcare. Given their close and long-term relationships with patients, primary care providers (PCPs) could play a vital role in improving access to hearing healthcare. Unfortunately, hearing loss is often underdiagnosed in primary care settings, because hearing screening is not a routine part of primary care visits, and the responsibility often falls on the patient or family to recognize and address the issue. The investigators propose to pilot test the use of text message reminders to encourage elderly patients to discuss hearing assessment with there PCPs. The study objectives are to: 1) design an automated text-messaging reminder system; 2) assess the feasibility of deploying the intervention in a clinical trial setting; and 3) evaluate whether the intervention increases willingness to seek hearing healthcare.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Health Services Research
- Masking
- Double (Care Provider, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 65 Years to — (Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •English-speaking adult patients aged 65 and older
- •Have not audiometric testing within the past 5 years
- •Has had at least one prior visit encounter with a Stanford primary care provider the past 1 year
- •Has a cell phone with a valid phone number
Exclusion Criteria
- •History of childhood hearing loss
- •Hearing aid users
- •Limited English proficiency
Arms & Interventions
Automated Text Message Reminder
Participants will receive automated reminder text instructing them to discuss hearing issues with their PCPs, and to request a referral to audiology or otolaryngology if they have hearing loss.
Intervention: Automated text message reminder (Behavioral)
Control Group
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Likelihood of patient-physician discussion of hearing loss or hearing assessment
Time Frame: 3 months after enrollment
Participant-reported rating of the likelihood of discussing hearing assessment with their PCP in the next 6 months. Likelihood will be assessed on an 11-point visual analogue scale (VAS). Score range: 0 to 10 (0 = not likely, 10 = very likely). Participants who have already discussed hearing assessment with their PCP will be assigned a score of 10.
Secondary Outcomes
- Likelihood of obtaining audiogram(3 months after enrollment)
- Likelihood of obtaining hearing aids(3 months after enrollment)
Investigators
Uchechukwu Megwalu
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Stanford University