Impacto Psicosocial de los productos de apoyo y otras tecnologías en personas sordas y con discapacidad auditiva

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Author´s name

Jiménez-Arberas, E. and Díez, E.

Article title in Spanish

Impacto Psicosocial de los productos de apoyo y otras tecnologías en personas sordas y con discapacidad auditiva

Article title in English

Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices and Other Technologies on Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

Name of journal

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Year of publication

2021

Volume of the journal

Pages of the journal

Keywords

Assistive technology, hearing aids, and outcomes

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147259

Summary in Spanish

Deaf and hard of hearing people use a variety of assistive devices and technologies as a strategy to mitigate, counter or compensate for life difficulties resulting from hearing loss. Although outcome measures are commonly used with hearing aids, few studies have explored the perceived psychosocial impact of other assistive devices and technologies or the factors leading to their abandonment or lack of use. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the psychosocial impact of different assistive devices on deaf and hard of hearing people using the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale. The sample was made up of 291 individuals, 176 women and 115 men, with an average age of 56.12 years (standard deviation (SD) = 25.11), who were all users of different assistive devices. Overall, the results of the study showed that the use of assistive devices had a positive psychosocial impact, although this impact varied slightly depending on the specific type of device. Moreover, a relationship was identified between the psychosocial impact and the probability of future abandonment of a hearing aid or a cochlear implant. The results point to the importance of considering the psychosocial impact derived from the use of a device as a relevant variable in the adoption process of assistive technologies for deaf and hard of hearing people.

Summary in English

Deaf and hard of hearing people use a variety of assistive devices and technologies as a strategy to mitigate, counter or compensate for life difficulties resulting from hearing loss. Although outcome measures are commonly used with hearing aids, few studies have explored the perceived psychosocial impact of other assistive devices and technologies or the factors leading to their abandonment or lack of use. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the psychosocial impact of different assistive devices on deaf and hard of hearing people using the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale. The sample was made up of 291 individuals, 176 women and 115 men, with an average age of 56.12 years (standard deviation (SD) = 25.11), who were all users of different assistive devices. Overall, the results of the study showed that the use of assistive devices had a positive psychosocial impact, although this impact varied slightly depending on the specific type of device. Moreover, a relationship was identified between the psychosocial impact and the probability of future abandonment of a hearing aid or a cochlear implant. The results point to the importance of considering the psychosocial impact derived from the use of a device as a relevant variable in the adoption process of assistive technologies for deaf and hard of hearing people.

Bibliographic reference

Jiménez-Arberas E, Díez E. Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices and Other Technologies on Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(14):7259. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147259