Synopsis
Patient-centered care encourages active involvement of patients in their own treatment and a collaborative perspective on the relationship between patient and practitioner. However, to achieve constructive patient-practitioner collaboration in medical consultations the partakers need to successfully interact across conceptual boundaries that can impede intersubjectivity, i.e., the construction of shared meanings and understandings in communicative activities. The authors of this study present a synthesis of a user-centered approach to designing interactive technology supporting collaboration in face-to-face consultations related to audiological (hearing) rehabilitation. Specifically, they focus on the case of hearing aid tuning, and on the design and utility assessment of a prototype sound environment simulator intended to support the process by helping the patient and the practitioner build a joint understanding of the individual patient’s hearing problem and perceived effects of treatment actions.