Evidence based practice (EBP) has proponents in all areas of healthcare and was endorsed in a technical report in 2004 and a position statement in 2005 by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Despite this, there is no text on EBP with specific application to audiology. It is particularly important in audiology, where there are various interventions to assist people with hearing impairment and a growing body of research evidence that needs to be appraised by clinicians and researchers. For students, the book can be used for learning about research methods and about outcomes of interventions for children and adults with hearing impairment. For researchers, the book provides a useful summary of available research on important topics in habilitation and rehabilitation and may assist them to design future research studies. For clinical audiologists, the book can help them understand what evidence is and how this can be applied in clinical practice. Other health professionals who can benefit from this book include ENTs, pediatricians, geriatricians, GPs, nurses, and aged care workers. The book can also guide policy makers and third-party payers in their decisions about allocation of resources. The text is written with sufficient information for readers with different backgrounds and experience and careful attention has been paid to presenting complex information in an easy to understand format. Edited by two leading academics in research in audiologic interventions. These editors have a rich clinical experience working with children and adults with hearing impairment and with other health professionals.

Like all health professionals, speech and language therapists (SLTs) need to keep themselves up-to-date with the research evidence base that is relevant to their field of practice and be able to show how this contributes to their clinical decision-making. However, it is not always clear to practitioners how evidence-based practice (EBP) can be properly embedded in their day-to-day activities. In this valuable book, Hazel Roddam and Jemma Skeat present a wealth of instructive examples by SLT contributors from around the world, showing how clinicians, educators, and researchers have risen to the EBP challenge. Embedding evidence-based practice in speech and language therapy showcases the creative ways that SLTs are developing knowledge and skills for EBP, creating contexts that support the use of evidence in practice, and working towards making evidence easily accessible and usable. It includes real-life examples of how SLTs have encountered a clinical problem or situation and have accessed and used the evidence within their day-to-day practice. The contributors come from a wide range of work settings, from services situated within large organizations to those in independent practice, and represent a range of clinical areas, from paediatric to adult and across speech, language, voice, fluency, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and dysphagia. This book is written for an audience of clinical practitioners, at any stage of their career, and is additionally a valuable resource for SLT students and lecturers.

Evaluating and Conducting Research in Audiology is the first research methods textbook that is specific to the field of audiology and designed to serve as an academic textbook for audiology graduate students. This text can also be accessible for audiology practitioners who are interested in clinical and applied research. The comprehensive coverage includes materials for multiple courses within audiology degree programs, including research methods, analysis of professional literature, evidence-based practice, and capstone research projects. Classroom tested, and written by authors who have extensive backgrounds in publishing and editing, this text provides knowledge that is required in evaluating, conducting, and disseminating research. The book is separated into three sections: (a) research methods; (b) evidence-based practice; and (c) conducting and disseminating research. Together, these sections provide a detailed coverage of the research methods that are relevant to conducting research, particularly in the field of Audiology. Key Features: * Learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter * End of chapter reviews including key points and study questions * Audiology-specific examples, research methods, and study designs * “Golden Nugget” boxes throughout the book containing valuable information related to the critical concepts * In-depth discussion of qualitative research methods, survey research methods, and systematic reviews to motivate students and early career researchers to consider these methodologies in their research

Written for speech-language pathologists, this book demonstrates how to apply current best evidence in making critical decisions about the care of individual patients, be it screening, diagnosis or treatment of communication disorders.

The loss of hearing - be it gradual or acute, mild or severe, present since birth or acquired in older age - can have significant effects on one's communication abilities, quality of life, social participation, and health. Despite this, many people with hearing loss do not seek or receive hearing health care. The reasons are numerous, complex, and often interconnected. For some, hearing health care is not affordable. For others, the appropriate services are difficult to access, or individuals do not know how or where to access them. Others may not want to deal with the stigma that they and society may associate with needing hearing health care and obtaining that care. Still others do not recognize they need hearing health care, as hearing loss is an invisible health condition that often worsens gradually over time. In the United States, an estimated 30 million individuals (12.7 percent of Americans ages 12 years or older) have hearing loss. Globally, hearing loss has been identified as the fifth leading cause of years lived with disability. Successful hearing health care enables individuals with hearing loss to have the freedom to communicate in their environments in ways that are culturally appropriate and that preserve their dignity and function. Hearing Health Care for Adults focuses on improving the accessibility and affordability of hearing health care for adults of all ages. This study examines the hearing health care system, with a focus on non-surgical technologies and services, and offers recommendations for improving access to, the affordability of, and the quality of hearing health care for adults of all ages.