Family engagement in paediatric cochlear implant habilitation : the clinicians’ perspective

Abstract

Background: Strong family engagement is known to be an important predictor of outcomes for children who receive cochlear implants. However, the barriers and facilitators of family engagement in the paediatric cochlear implant habilitation process have seldom been explored in the literature. It is important to develop an understanding of these barriers and facilitators so that they can inform family-centred clinical practice, and improve the outcomes of children with cochlear implants. Methods: The present study aimed to explore clinicians’ views on family engagement, and uncover what clinicians perceive to be the barriers and facilitators of family engagement. A mixed methods approach was used, consisting of a survey and interviews. The survey contained both closed- and open-ended questions about the research topic. The interviews were used to gain more in-depth insight about the strategies that clinicians used to facilitate engagement. Interviews were analysed with reflexive thematic analysis. Main results: There were 41 survey participants and 7 interview participants. Clinicians identified cultural, emotional, educational, socioeconomic, and access-based barriers to family engagement. Several strategies were also identified to help overcome these barriers including improving cultural safety, improving accessibility to services, and increasing families’ connectedness to the habilitation centre and wider community. Conclusions: Clinicians believe that family engagement is crucial for success of the cochlear implant habilitation process. The clinician-identified strategies can significantly improve family engagement, and may be useful for future clinical practice. While several strategies for family engagement were identified, many clinicians feel that further progress is required to truly break down the barriers to family engagement and make the habilitation process equitable for all families.