A multicentre study evaluating the effects of the Swedish ACE programme.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of a modified Swedish version of an interactive group education programme, the Active Communication Education (ACE) programme, in five Swedish regions. This study also explored whether the pre- and post-programme outcomes differed with regard to region, age, gender, hearing loss (HL) or the attendance of significant others (SOs).

DESIGN: An intervention study with between- and within-group measurements was applied.

STUDY SAMPLE: Seventy-seven individuals with hearing impairments and a mean age of 73.9 years (SD = 9.8) from five different regions in Sweden participated in this study.

RESULTS: Statistically significant short- and long-term effects on communication strategy use, activity and participation were observed. The ACE programme was most effective for older individuals, women and participants with more severe HL. Individuals who attended with an SO tended to use better communication strategies. No regional differences were observed. The qualitative results indicated that the programme increased individuals' ability to cope and restored their social identities.

CONCLUSIONS: The ACE programme is effective, is recommended for implementation in clinical settings and is considered an alternative or additional treatment to hearing aid rehabilitation. Additional studies that include younger individuals and a control group are recommended.