Objective: The present study aimed to explore the nature of parental involvement in the intervention of children with hearing loss, as experienced by parents.
Design: A qualitative descriptive methodology was adopted to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of parents who have a child with hearing loss.
Study sample: Seventeen parents of 11 children aged 6-9 years participated in this study.
Results: The overarching theme of parents taking the central role was identified using thematic analysis. This overarching theme connected five themes which described the nature of parental involvement: (1) parents work behind the scenes; (2) parents act as 'case managers'; (3) parents always have their child's language development in mind; (4) parents' role extends to advocacy for all children with hearing loss; and (5) parents serve a number of roles, but at the end of the day, they are parents.
Conclusions: The results indicate that parental involvement in the intervention of children with hearing loss is multifaceted in nature and incorporates a broad range of behaviours and practices. These findings have important implications for the provision of family-centred practices.
Keywords: Children; family-centred practice; hearing loss; intervention; parental involvement.