Patients’ Perspective of Patient-Centered Approach vs. Biomedical Approach

Evidence-based practice in audiology may consist of a patient-centered approach or a biomedical approach when offering individuals the results of hearing evaluations. Boisvert et al. (2017) and the Institute for Defense Analysis confirmed that audiologists preferred to select one approach. The question was if an audiology patient is presented with two options of explaining the hearing health issues, which model/approach will be his or her preference? Participants may have had unconscious biases related to race or gender that could have unknowingly impacted their perception of the videos. The results of this research will facilitate clinical understanding of individual preferences regarding hearing aid recommendations, leading to improved health outcomes. The author addressed the decisions patients and doctors may encounter specific to chosen approaches for interpreting hearing diagnostics to individuals. The question of preferred approaches for both patients and audiologists to hearing health care recommendations is emerging in the literature, and this study continues to address the preferences. Clinical implications, limitations, and future research needs were also discussed