Adolescent-Centered mHealth Applications in a Collaborative Care Model: A Virtual Focus Group Study With Audiologists

Technology-enabled care, including the use of mobile health (mHealth), is emerging as a viable hearing health care delivery method. While the integration of mHealth with adult populations currently supports a wide array of hearing services, a better understanding of the implementation across the lifespan is needed. Literature surrounding the unique population of adolescent hearing aid users is currently lacking. Research is needed to highlight factors important to the use and clinical integration of mHealth hearing aid applications (apps) with adolescents. This study explored two primary objectives: (a) audiologists' perceptions around the use of mHealth apps to enable collaborative, child-inclusive hearing aid personalization, and (b) person-centered ideation around potential app design components to benefit users aged 12 to 17 years.