2026-10-14T08:14:07Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33970833 2026-09-23T05:20:02Z category_4 category_7 category_16 category_21 category_45 category_734 category_106 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Measuring empowerment with the EmpAQ-15 and EmpAQ-5: test-retest reliability and responsiveness in a clinical population Rebecca J. Bennett (4450942) Paola Incerti (22698600) Josefina Larsson (2619487) Gitte Engelund (23146872) Ellen Bothe (9420002) Melanie A. Ferguson (8769623) Biochemistry Medicine Physiology Biotechnology Sociology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Science Policy Empowerment test-retest responsiveness hearing <p>To evaluate the test-retest reliability and responsiveness of the 15-item and 5-item forms of the Empowerment in Audiology Questionnaire (EmpAQ measures).</p> <p>In Study A, participants completed the EmpAQ-15 and the Revised Hearing Handicap Inventory-Screening version (RHHI-S) twice, 3–4 weeks apart. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland-Altman plots. In Study B, participants completed the EmpAQ-15 and RHHI-S at baseline (pre-hearing aid fitting) and three and six months post-hearing aid fitting. Responsiveness was assessed using distribution-based, anchor-based, and measurement error-based approaches. We derived EmpAQ-5 from the EmpAQ-15 dataset and analysed it similarly.</p> <p>Study A, <i>n</i> = 53 adults with hearing difficulties. Study B, <i>n</i> = 51 hearing aid-naïve adults with hearing difficulties.</p> <p>EmpAQ-15 and EmpAQ-5 demonstrated moderate test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.72 and 0.74 respectively), comparable to the RHHI-S (ICC = 0.77). Following hearing aid fitting, EmpAQ scores increased significantly at 3 months (mean change +9.29 and +10.60; SRM = 0.50 and 0.53). Approximately 21–23% exceeded MDC95 thresholds, indicating individual-level change beyond measurement error. Improvements were maintained at 6 months.</p> <p>The EmpAQ-15 and EmpAQ-5 are reliable and responsive measures that capture empowerment changes following hearing aid fitting and complement traditional evaluation tools in contemporary audiological care.</p> 2026-09-23T05:20:02Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33970833.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Measuring_empowerment_with_the_EmpAQ-15_and_EmpAQ-5_test-retest_reliability_and_responsiveness_in_a_clinical_population/33970833 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0