Reflections on evaluative research in audiological rehabilitation.

Abstract

Changes in service delivery triggered by current conceptualizations of rehabilitation require an accompanying paradigm shift in the approaches used to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs in audiological rehabilitation. The present article outlines three fundamental principles of contemporary rehabilitative audiology that have implications concerning the way that audiological rehabilitation services should be conceived and dispensed, as well as the way in which comprehensive evaluative research investigations should be designed and conducted. Traditional treatment efficacy paradigms used to assess the effectiveness of intervention programs in rehabilitative audiology are critiqued. Finally, factors that should guide the development of comprehensive evaluative research paradigms which are consistent with current models of intervention in audiological rehabilitation are outlined.