Patients' and Clinicians' Views of the Psychological Components of Tinnitus Treatment That Could Inform Audiologists' Usual Care: A Delphi Survey.
Dean M Thompson, John Taylor, Deborah A Hall and 6 others
PMID 28930785WHAT IT FOUND
Patients and clinicians agreed many psychological care components could be included in audiologist-delivered tinnitus care, but no component was agreed to exclude.
This is a view of what should be included, not proof it helps.
Key findings
01The panel included 20 patients and 22 clinicians: 14 audiologists, 6 hearing therapists, and 2 psychologists.
02Of 160 components, 76 reached final consensus as important to include in a treatment manual for audiologists, and none reached consensus to exclude.
03When only patients' responses were considered, 17 components reached consensus that did not when all panelist data were included; when only clinicians' responses were considered, 3 components reached consensus that did not when all data were included.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only 2 psychologists were recruited, so their views may not represent psychologists. The panel was based in the United Kingdom, so the results may not transfer to other health systems or cultures. The survey asked what should be included, not what works; it did not test patient outcomes. Including all agreed components in one intervention may be impractical because there were many components. It is unknown whether any patient on the panel had received care from any clinician on the panel. Panelists could skip items they did not understand, which may have reduced missing data but could also bias consensus.
Declared interests
The supplied text names Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust as sponsor and reports ethics approval; it does not include a funding or conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that audiologist-delivered psychological care works or that all agreed components should be used. This study recorded patient and clinician views about what should be included, not tested outcomes.