The survey of parents’ and adults recipients’ satisfaction with cochlear implantation determined by the place of residence

Introduction: The use of cochlear implants (CI) has been a remarkable success in reducing disabilities in patients with impaired hearing. The definition of success for those patients means improvement of hearing ability for adults, possibility to develop speech and language for children, quality of life improvement and satisfaction with the whole CI implantation procedure. The aim: To examine patient satisfaction, determined by their place of residence, with all activities in progress during CI implantation including care in subsequent years. Material and methods: The study was conducted prospectively. Online surveys were sent to 1,906 CI patients, with the response rate reaching 33%; thus 630 surveys were analyzed. Demographic data of the respondents were collected: gender, age of implantation, one- or two-sided implantation, place of residence and implanting clinic. A detailed statistical analysis of the obtained data was performed. Results: One of the problems observed was the aspect of waiting time for qualification, implantation and replacement of the speech processor. The second problem was the travel time to the CI center and that was strictly connected with the place of the residence of a patient. Patients’ satisfaction with the control visit was high for majority of them. Conclusions: This research highlighted the limitations of the current CI service delivery. Significant differences concerning the CI pathway were found for particular regions of Poland. One of the future goals for healthcare providers should be to level out the differences in access to CI services between different regions of Poland.