The Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2023 Mar 1;149(3):247-252. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2022.4344.
The addition of over-the-counter hearing aid (HA) options has transformed the way individuals can access hearing health care (HHC). However, although critical to their adoption and use, consumer attitudes and opinions about direct-to-consumer (DTC) models of health care are often understudied.
To assess how recent DTC market changes in HHC delivery may be associated with consumer choice and attitudes towards specific HHC models.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A mixed-methods survey, distributed online between March 22 and 25, 2022, using Qualtrics Survey Panels. Participants were US residents older than 50 years with no previous hearing aid experience, enrolled using consecutive sampling. A minimum of 1000 completed responses was set; once the 70% threshold was met, any future respondent who identified as White would not be given the survey.
Respondents were asked to report their level of comfort with using different variations of DTC-HHC and asked about their previous experience with other DTC health care models. Respondents then reported which model (in-person vs online) of HHC they would most likely pursue.
Of 1377 respondents, 1037 were included in the survey study (mean [SD] age, 61.4 [7.84] years; 714 [69.0%] were female; 674 [65.0%] were White). Most respondents reported discomfort with pursuing hearing aids via DTC pathways, with 84% (874 of 1037) indicating they would pursue HHC via an in-person model. Individuals who were older (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92-0.98), reported an income greater than $150 000 (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.08-0.91), and were not interested in HA (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23-0.79) were less likely to pursue HHC online. Those who had previous experience with DTC health care (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.27-3.02), and did not have (OR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.59-4.31) or were uncertain (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.13-3.70) about their insurance coverage for HA were more likely to pursue HHC online.
Current consumer attitudes and opinions found in this survey study suggest that DTC-HHC may not find immediate acceptance by most potential HA seekers in the US.
非处方助听器 (HA) 选项的增加改变了人们获取听力保健 (HHC) 的方式。 然而，尽管直接面向消费者 (DTC) 医疗模式对其采用和使用至关重要，但消费者对这些模式的态度和意见往往研究不足。
评估 HHC 交付的最近 DTC 市场变化如何与消费者对特定 HHC 模式的选择和态度相关。
设计、设置和参与者： 2022 年 3 月 22 日至 25 日，使用 Qualtrics 调查小组在线进行混合方法调查。 参与者是年龄在 50 岁以上、没有以前使用过助听器经验的美国居民，使用连续抽样进行登记。 设定了至少 1000 个完成的回复；一旦达到 70%的阈值，任何未来识别为白人的受访者都不会收到调查。
要求受访者报告他们使用不同类型的 DTC-HHC 的舒适度，并询问他们以前对其他 DTC 医疗保健模式的经验。 然后，受访者报告了他们最有可能选择哪种 HHC 模式（面对面与在线）。
在 1377 名受访者中，有 1037 名被纳入调查研究（平均[SD]年龄，61.4[7.84]岁；714[69.0%]为女性；674[65.0%]为白人）。 大多数受访者表示对通过 DTC 途径获得助听器感到不适，84%（1037 名中的 874 名）表示他们将通过面对面的模式寻求 HHC。 年龄较大（比值比[OR]，0.95；95%置信区间[CI]，0.92-0.98）、收入超过 150000 美元（OR，0.29；95%CI，0.08-0.91）和对 HA 不感兴趣（OR，0.42；95%CI，0.23-0.79）的个体不太可能在线寻求 HHC。 那些有 DTC 医疗保健经验（OR，1.97；95%CI，1.27-3.02），并且没有（OR，2.61；95%CI，1.59-4.31）或不确定（OR，2.05；95%CI，1.13-3.70）HA 保险覆盖范围的人更有可能在线寻求 HHC。
本调查研究中当前的消费者态度和意见表明，DTC-HHC 可能不会立即被美国大多数潜在的 HA 寻求者所接受。
