Study population
Prior to the trial, patients of low vision rehabilitation were screened for eligibility. A short, large-print questionnaire on hearing problems and hearing aid ownership was sent to all patients (aged >50 years) who received low vision rehabilitation between January 1 and October 31, 2012. Addresses were derived from the patient information databases of the rehabilitation institutions. After two weeks, patients who did not fill in the questionnaire were telephoned about the questionnaire and in case the patient was not able to fill in the questionnaire due to low vision, the questions were administered orally by telephone. More details on the screening and the results of the screening are published elsewhere [11].
Patients who experience hearing problems and are in the possession of a hearing aid will be invited to participate in the RCT. Hearing aid owners will be invited to participate because hearing aids, and making optimal use of hearing aids, are an important part of the DSL protocol. In addition, by selecting hearing aid owners with hearing problems by using information from the questionnaire, patients with both objective hearing loss (reimbursement of hearing aids from a hearing loss of at least 35 dB) and self-reported hearing disability will be selected; these patients are expected to be motivated and the most suitable for rehabilitation [48]. Moreover, due to time constraints, it is not possible to wait for patients to fit hearing aids in order to be able to take part in the trial; this procedure may take months due to the required testing period and possible reimbursement.
Written information will be sent to eligible patients and informed consent will be signed prior to inclusion. It is expected that about 1500 patients need to be screened to include 124 eligible participants in the trial. Patients who are unable to comprehend or respond to questions due to cognitive impairment, or have insufficient knowledge of the Dutch language, will be excluded from the study. Table 1 summarizes the inclusion/exclusion criteria.
Study population
Prior to the trial, patients of low vision rehabilitation were screened for eligibility. A short, large-print questionnaire on hearing problems and hearing aid ownership was sent to all patients (aged >50 years) who received low vision rehabilitation between January 1 and October 31, 2012. Addresses were derived from the patient information databases of the rehabilitation institutions. After two weeks, patients who did not fill in the questionnaire were telephoned about the questionnaire and in case the patient was not able to fill in the questionnaire due to low vision, the questions were administered orally by telephone. More details on the screening and the results of the screening are published elsewhere [11].
Patients who experience hearing problems and are in the possession of a hearing aid will be invited to participate in the RCT. Hearing aid owners will be invited to participate because hearing aids, and making optimal use of hearing aids, are an important part of the DSL protocol. In addition, by selecting hearing aid owners with hearing problems by using information from the questionnaire, patients with both objective hearing loss (reimbursement of hearing aids from a hearing loss of at least 35 dB) and self-reported hearing disability will be selected; these patients are expected to be motivated and the most suitable for rehabilitation [48]. Moreover, due to time constraints, it is not possible to wait for patients to fit hearing aids in order to be able to take part in the trial; this procedure may take months due to the required testing period and possible reimbursement.
Written information will be sent to eligible patients and informed consent will be signed prior to inclusion. It is expected that about 1500 patients need to be screened to include 124 eligible participants in the trial. Patients who are unable to comprehend or respond to questions due to cognitive impairment, or have insufficient knowledge of the Dutch language, will be excluded from the study. Table 1 summarizes the inclusion/exclusion criteria.
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