Article
The HEAR-COMMAND Tool; a newly developed ICF-based questionnaire to evaluate hearing and communication impairment
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Authors
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Tahereh Afghah
- Hörzentrum Oldenburg gGmbH and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, Oldenburg, DE
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Razan Alfakir
- Auburn University, Department of Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences, Auburn, USA
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Markus Meis
- Cochlear GmbH & Co. KG, Hannover, DE
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Lisette M. van Leeuwen
- Amsterdam University Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam, NL
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Sophia E. Kramer
- Amsterdam University Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam, NL
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Kathleen Lea
- Auburn University, Department of Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences, Auburn, USA
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Kirsten C. Wagener
- Hörzentrum Oldenburg gGmbH and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, Oldenburg, DE
| Published: | March 1, 2023 |
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Outline
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Introduction: Throughout the audiologic rehabilitation procedures, it is expected that the hearing devices would improve impaired hearing and communication disability among individuals with hearing loss (HL). However, persistent hearing and communication impairments are common due to the complex impact of HL on an individual's daily functioning and activities. The International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health framework Core Sets for HL (ICF CSHL) is a worldwide accepted standard for evaluating an individual’s daily functioning and activities post-diagnosis with HL. An international team of experts with different scientific backgrounds gathered to build the ICF CSHL-based questionnaire, named the HEAR COMMAND Tool to assess the broad aspects of HL and the communication and conversation disability.
Methods: The questionnaire items were developed based on the categories of the brief and comprehensive ICF CSHL which were found to be highly essential to evaluate HL and communication disability originally in English. The questionnaire contains 120 questions (90 ICF-based and 30 personal factors and HL inquiries). Except for four categories of the Body Structure domain, the questions were developed considering all remaining categories of the brief ICF CSHL including Body Functions, Activities and Participation, and Environmental Factors (a total of 85% of the categories). Furthermore, 44% of the comprehensive ICF CSHL categories of similar domains were addressed.
Results: The initial German version of the questionnaire was developed and evaluated at Hörzentrum Oldenburg gGmbH, Oldenburg, Germany with 53 and the revised version with 71 respondents. The results of evaluating the responses and the verbal or written feedback received from the respondents showed that the questionnaire paves a solid foundation for bridging the gap between the ICF framework and hearing healthcare providers. The questionnaire can have the capability to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of HL for the multitude of common problems related to daily functioning and disability.
Conclusion: The tool converts the ICF CSHL to a practical methodology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of hearing healthcare. The outcome of the German version of the questionnaire was further merged with the outcome of the questionnaire usage translated to English and Arabic, which were used for data collection at Auburn University, USA, and Sohag University Hospital, Egypt. The compatibility of the tool in different countries and languages is in line with the ICF framework that is created as a worldwide standard. As body structure categories were excluded in the design, pairing the tool with medical examinations and imaging methods may enable hearing healthcare providers to evaluate HL and its consequences on quality of life on a broad scale.
Disclosure: Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Project-ID 352015383 – SFB 1330 C4.
References
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- Afghah T, Alfakir R, Meis M, van Leeuwen L, Kramer SE, Hammady M, Youssif M, Wagener KC. The development of a self-rated ICF-based questionnaire (HEAR-COMMAND Tool) to evaluate Hearing, Communication, and Conversation disability: multinational experts’ and patients’ perspectives. Front Rehabil Sci. 2022 Nov 14;3:1005525. DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2022.1005525
