Myles Andrew James
a Department of Linguistics , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.
Int J Audiol. 2017 Nov;56(11):870-875. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2017.1327123. Epub 2017 May 22.
Limited empirical investigation exists validating the use of Arthur Boothroyd (AB) word recognition materials within the Australian clinical context. The current research was undertaken to examine the evidence base and clinical implementation/interpretation of AB words in Australia.
An on-line 22-question survey was e-mailed to members of the peak audiology professional body in Australia.
Three hundred and twelve responses were recorded between April and June 2015 from audiologists of a range of ages, working in various clinical settings.
The survey results suggested audiologists use AB words on a wide range of clients from children <5 to adults ≥80 years, for diverse purposes including diagnosis of retrocochlear pathology, candidacy and validation of rehabilitative options, and client counselling. A majority of respondents reported typically administering one or two word lists per ear, and over 99% of audiologists utilised phonemic scoring. There was no consensus regarding what constitutes a significant difference between any two given scores.
Wide variation exists in the administration and interpretation of AB words in Australia. There appears to be a mismatch between clinical utilisation of AB words and existing evidence-based empirical data. Further research is required to improve evidence-based audiologist training, and thereby current clinical use of AB words.
在澳大利亚临床环境中，验证使用亚瑟·布斯罗伊德（AB）单词识别材料的实证研究有限。当前的研究旨在检验澳大利亚AB单词的证据基础以及临床应用/解读情况。
通过电子邮件向澳大利亚顶级听力学专业机构的成员发送了一份包含22个问题的在线调查问卷。
2015年4月至6月期间，记录了来自不同年龄、在各种临床环境中工作的听力学家的312份回复。
调查结果表明，听力学家在从小于5岁的儿童到80岁及以上的成年人等广泛的客户群体中使用AB单词，用于多种目的，包括诊断蜗后病变、评估康复方案的候选资格和有效性以及为客户提供咨询。大多数受访者报告通常每只耳朵进行一到两个单词列表的测试，超过99%的听力学家采用音素评分。对于任意两个给定分数之间的显著差异的构成，没有达成共识。
在澳大利亚，AB单词的应用和解读存在很大差异。AB单词的临床应用与现有的循证实证数据之间似乎存在不匹配。需要进一步的研究来改进基于证据的听力学家培训，从而改善目前AB单词的临床应用。
