Data Standards in Audiology: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Community Perspectives and Implementation Considerations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore options for data standardisation in audiology and document the global audiology community's current knowledge and views of data standards, explore their needs and preferences, and develop recommendations for data standardisation as a result. Design: A mixed-methods approach, combining a structured survey with an in-depth exploration of themes by experts during a special session on "Big Data and Data Standards in Audiology" at the 2024 Virtual Conference of Computational Audiology. Study Sample: The survey sample consisted of 82 members of the global audiology community; five experts joined the panel discussion. Results: Survey results emphasized the need for data standardisation in audiology aimed at facilitating research and improving patient care. Knowledge of existing initiatives was low: 38% were aware of initiatives. Yet, 90% envisioned contributing to them moving forward. The panel discussion explored emerging standardisation initiatives in audiology (OMOP, openEHR, HIMSA's Noah standard), challenges (e.g., data quality and privacy), and opportunities (e.g., conversion between approaches and synergies with other medical fields). Conclusions: The community support identified in this study could be leveraged to further develop standardisation initiatives for audiology, ensuring alignment between initiatives and with other medical fields.