Introduction
The group rehabilitation program Active Communication Education program (ACE), has been translated and evaluated in two Swedish studies. Statistically significant effects were found for activity and participation and communication strategies. The qualitative analyze showed that the participants found the structure and the content of the program to be beneficial and “learning from the group” was found to be the most pronounced advantage of the program. All individuals do not want to or do not have the possibility to participate in group activities and therefore are individual education programs requested. Could an individual educational program, administered via the internet, be beneficial even without the possibility to learn from the peers in a group? The aim with this study was to translate and, in a pilot study, evaluate the Individual Active Communication Education program (I-ACE) for a Swedish population.
Method
The originally I-ACE program, developed in Australian, was translated and mixed with contents from the Swedish ACE program to a five week, online education program. Participants were recruited by advertisements in hearing health care centers and at social medium forums. Twenty-four individuals participated and received I-ACE material by mail every week. The effects were evaluated with standardized questionnaires and open ended items.
Result
Statistically significant effects were found for activity and participation and for communication strategies. The qualitative analyze showed that the participants were satisfied with the content of the program. Learning about communication strategies and own reflections about the hearing problems were the most pronounced advantages.
Conclusion
The Swedish version of the I-ACE with material administered by mail worked well and was found to increase participants’ activity and participation and communication strategies. Further research, including a control group, is needed to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the I-ACE program.