Self-reported cochlear implant management skills: development and validation of the self-administered Cochlear Implant Management Skills (CIMS-self) survey

Objective A self-administered device management survey was developed and validated to investigate the ability of cochlear implant recipients to self-report physical handling and care for their hearing implant device(s) and to identify factors that may influence self-reported management skills. Design Survey development and validation. A prospective convenience cohort design study. Setting Specialist hearing implant clinic. Participants Forty-nine post-lingually hearing impaired, adult cochlear implant recipients, at least 12 months postoperative. Main outcome measures Survey test–retest reliability, responsiveness, criterion validity and sensitivity and specificity compared to clinician evaluation of device management skills. Correlations between self-reported management skills and participant demographic, audiometric, cognitive function, clinical outcomes and device factors. Results The self-administered Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey was developed, demonstrating high test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.884, P < 0.001; CI 95%: 0.721–0.952), responsiveness to intervention (management skills training) [t(20) = −3.245, P = 0.004], criterion validity (ICC = 0.765, P < 0.001; CI 95%: 0.584–0.868) and sensitivity (0.89). No associations were found between self-reported management skills and participant factors. Conclusions This study demonstrated that a self-report survey is an effective method for the evaluation of skills required for cochlear implant device management.