Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients

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dc.contributor.advisorRogers, Christine
dc.contributor.authorVan Stelten, Carla
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-02T07:19:03Z
dc.date.available2025-10-02T07:19:03Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.updated2025-10-02T06:52:50Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: Mental disorders are prevalent in older adults. The most frequent mental disorders in older adults are depression and dementia, which have both been related to hearing loss. Audiologists, as hearing care professionals, may play an important role in early identification, referral, and management of these disorders. Small studies from high-income countries suggested that audiologists lack knowledge and skills related to addressing mental health needs. This study explored a broader spectrum of settings for audiologists' knowledge, practices, and perceptions regarding addressing mental health needs. Methodology: Explanatory sequential mixed methods design with a multi-national sample of audiologists. The first phase was a survey (n = 50) to obtain predominantly quantitative data. The second phase was online focus groups (n = 13) to obtain rich, qualitative data and enable triangulation. Results and Discussion: The majority of audiologists responded to mental health needs of their older adult clients and most believed that a better understanding of clients' psychosocial status would positively affect audiological care (86%; n = 43). Despite audiologists displaying knowledge of the impact of hearing loss on mental well-being, action related to the additional burden of hearing loss is not operationalised. Addressing psychosocial needs, including screening behaviours and referral destinations, lacked uniformity. Facilitators and barriers to providing mental health services in the audiological setting are described. Conclusions: Audiologists treat their clients holistically and recognise that clients' needs extend beyond their hearing loss. Knowledge enhancement and protocol development may help audiologists to address mental health needs in an evidence-based way.
dc.identifier.apacitationVan Stelten, C. (2025). <i>Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41965en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationVan Stelten, Carla. <i>"Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41965en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationVan Stelten, C. 2025. Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41965en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Van Stelten, Carla AB - Background: Mental disorders are prevalent in older adults. The most frequent mental disorders in older adults are depression and dementia, which have both been related to hearing loss. Audiologists, as hearing care professionals, may play an important role in early identification, referral, and management of these disorders. Small studies from high-income countries suggested that audiologists lack knowledge and skills related to addressing mental health needs. This study explored a broader spectrum of settings for audiologists' knowledge, practices, and perceptions regarding addressing mental health needs. Methodology: Explanatory sequential mixed methods design with a multi-national sample of audiologists. The first phase was a survey (n = 50) to obtain predominantly quantitative data. The second phase was online focus groups (n = 13) to obtain rich, qualitative data and enable triangulation. Results and Discussion: The majority of audiologists responded to mental health needs of their older adult clients and most believed that a better understanding of clients' psychosocial status would positively affect audiological care (86%; n = 43). Despite audiologists displaying knowledge of the impact of hearing loss on mental well-being, action related to the additional burden of hearing loss is not operationalised. Addressing psychosocial needs, including screening behaviours and referral destinations, lacked uniformity. Facilitators and barriers to providing mental health services in the audiological setting are described. Conclusions: Audiologists treat their clients holistically and recognise that clients' needs extend beyond their hearing loss. Knowledge enhancement and protocol development may help audiologists to address mental health needs in an evidence-based way. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Mental health KW - Adults LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients TI - Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41965 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/41965
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationVan Stelten C. Practices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41965en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectMental health
dc.subjectAdults
dc.titlePractices and Perceptions of Audiologists in Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Adult Clients
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
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