Developing a parent education and support smartphone application for pediatric hearing aid management in partnership with parents and audiologists

OBJECTIVE: To describe the approach for developing a hearing aid management education and support mobile application (referred to as App) for use by parents of children birth to 10 years of age and audiologists as a resource when working with families. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data were obtained using questionnaires and workshops. STUDY SAMPLE: Paediatric audiologists and parents of children aged birth to 10 years who use hearing aids participated in review of the App and provided feedback. RESULTS: Participants responded positively to the App content and planned interactive features (e.g., tracking hours of hearing aid use) based on ratings for each section and overall impressions. Participant feedback resulted in the inclusion of new information and videos and influenced modifications for navigation and usability. CONCLUSIONS: Insights and feedback from end-users provided valuable contributions in the development process of the hearing aid education and support App. The App represents a new approach for reaching parents of children who use hearing aids, offering a structured or flexible learning pathway, based on parent preference. Future research will demonstrate usability, acceptability, and feasibility for use in practice, further informing development of the App, and will provide insights into outcomes for parents and hearing aid use for children.