Objective: This study aimed to investigate family members' involvement in audiology rehabilitation appointments.
Design: Audiology appointments were video-recorded and analysed using quantitative coding and conversation analysis (CA).
Study sample: The study sample included 13 audiologists, 17 older adults with hearing impairment, and 17 family members.
Results: Initial coding showed that family members participated in 12% of the total talk time during audiology appointments. The CA results demonstrated that family members were not typically invited to join the conversation. However, family members would self-select to speak by: (1) responding to questions from the audiologist which were directed at the client; (2) self-initiating expansions on clients' turns; and (3) self-initiating questions. When family members did participate in the interaction, audiologists typically responded by shifting the conversation back to the client.
Conclusion: While family members currently have minimal participation in audiology appointments, they display a strong interest in being involved and sharing their experiences of the client's hearing impairment. The findings suggest support for implementing family-centred care principles in audiology practice.
Keywords: Hearing impairment; audiology; conversation analysis; family members; family-centred care; hearing rehabilitation; third-party disability.