The patient journey of Chinese older adults seeking hearing healthcare

Abstract

Despite the high prevalence of presbycusis in older adults aged 60 and above in China, little is known about the experiences of these individuals due to their hearing loss. Past literature has investigated the ‘patient journey’, or the processes that the patients underwent in the course of their disease, of individuals with hearing impairment. However, the patient journey developed before might not be completely transferable to the Chinese population because of possible cultural and healthcare infrastructure differences. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the patient journey of Chinese older adults with presbycusis to understand their experiences with hearing impairment. Data were collected by individual semi-structured interviews with eight Chinese older adults who came to The General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army (The 301 Hospital) at Beijing for hearing consultation. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and the results were presented by using a process-mapping model. A patient journey for presbycusis in Chinese older adults was developed. Six phases were identified: pre-awareness, awareness, consideration, diagnostics, rehabilitation and termination. Frequent regression of the help-seeking journey of the studied population was also highlighted, which could be attributed to inaccessible trusted information, unresolved hearing aid issues and unsuccessful rehabilitation. These findings provided insights about the milestones that these older adults went through, shedding light for hearing healthcare professionals in delivering and planning future audiological services to meet the unique needs of this population.