Caregiver Experiences of Student-Facilitated Teleaudiology Infant Diagnostic Testing.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Caregiver Experiences of Student-Facilitated Teleaudiology Infant Diagnostic Testing.
Authors:	Phillips, Jocelyn¹ jocelyn.phillips@unimelb.edu.au, Tomlin, Dani¹, Graydon, Kelley¹, Sarant, Julia¹
Source:	American Journal of Audiology. Sep2026, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p846-856. 11p.
Subject Terms:	Auditory perception testing, Health services accessibility, Health occupations students, Communication, Caregiver attitudes, Children, Hearing disorder diagnosis, Audiology, Pilot projects, Interviewing, Judgment sampling, Mann Whitney U Test, Descriptive statistics, Telemedicine, Thematic analysis, Videoconferencing, Medical appointments, Audiologists, Data analysis software
Geographic Terms:	Victoria
Abstract:	Purpose: Early diagnosis is crucial for infants with hearing loss, but access to specialized services can be challenging for some families. This study piloted a student-facilitated teleaudiology model for infant diagnostics and investigated caregiver opinions of this service in Victoria, Australia. Method: Eight families with infants under 6 months old participated in either in-person or teleaudiology appointments, followed by interviews with caregivers to explore their experiences. Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data. Results: Four main themes emerged: (a) improved accessibility of appointments; (b) effective rapport building and communication, with concerns for supporting challenging scenarios; (c) varying perceptions of facilitator involvement; and (d) level of concern influencing family preferences for appointment type. Caregivers reported positive experiences with teleaudiology, citing improved convenience and reduced travel time as major benefits. However, some expressed concerns about the provision of adequate emotional support in complex cases via telehealth and some impacts of having student facilitators on caregiver confidence in the results. Conclusions: While a student-facilitated teleaudiology service could improve access to infant diagnostic audiology, family preferences and appointment complexity should be considered when offering this option. Future research should explore the feasibility of this service with a larger sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Purpose: Early diagnosis is crucial for infants with hearing loss, but access to specialized services can be challenging for some families. This study piloted a student-facilitated teleaudiology model for infant diagnostics and investigated caregiver opinions of this service in Victoria, Australia. Method: Eight families with infants under 6 months old participated in either in-person or teleaudiology appointments, followed by interviews with caregivers to explore their experiences. Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data. Results: Four main themes emerged: (a) improved accessibility of appointments; (b) effective rapport building and communication, with concerns for supporting challenging scenarios; (c) varying perceptions of facilitator involvement; and (d) level of concern influencing family preferences for appointment type. Caregivers reported positive experiences with teleaudiology, citing improved convenience and reduced travel time as major benefits. However, some expressed concerns about the provision of adequate emotional support in complex cases via telehealth and some impacts of having student facilitators on caregiver confidence in the results. Conclusions: While a student-facilitated teleaudiology service could improve access to infant diagnostic audiology, family preferences and appointment complexity should be considered when offering this option. Future research should explore the feasibility of this service with a larger sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	10590889
DOI:	10.1044/2026_AJA-25-00219