Knowledge and Attitudes of Parents towards Childhood Hearing Loss and Pediatric Hearing Services in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The successful implementation of pediatric audiology services depends on parental engagement and support. It is essential to analyze the gaps in knowledge level and attitude of the parents in United Arab Emirates (UAE), towards pediatric hearing loss and pediatric audiology services. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of parents in Sharjah, UAE.A cross-sectional survey was administered to 295 parents in a tertiary care hospital setting. The self-reported questionnaire consisted of 26 items. 34.2% of the parents ascertaining good knowledge and 65.8% reported poor knowledge regarding the various factors related to the childhood hearing loss. Further, 86.2% of parents reported positive attitudes regarding accessing pediatric audiology services. A significant association was found between age groups, educational status, and knowledge levels. The study highlights the poor knowledge demonstrated by parents in the UAE regarding hearing loss and its associated risk factors. Findings outline the critical need in the region to enhance parental awareness. More health promotion activities and community outreach campaigns are necessary to increase the uptake of pediatric audiology services in the region.

Views of Syrian Mothers in Ankara on Infant Hearing Loss: Cross-sectional Survey

“…These results were probably due to the high prevalence of otitis media with effusion in the developing countries, which lends ear discharge as a known cause of hearing loss (Olusanya et al, 2006 ). Similar to ear discharge, high fever was also highly recognized as a risk factor among mothers in the present study, which agreed with Wang et al, ( 2017 ) and Olusanya et al, ( 2006 ), but it was less frequently identified by mothers in other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Solomon Islands (Ayas & Yaseen, 2021 ; Swanepoel & Almec, 2008 ). Similar to the study by Wang et al, ( 2017 ), the reason for this high knowledge in the present study might be because of social knowledge.…”

“…Regarding ear discharge, our findings were consistent with Kaspar et al, ( 2017 ), Ayas & Yaseen ( 2021 ), Wang et al, ( 2017 ), Swanepoel & Almec ( 2008 ), Olusanya et al, ( 2006 ), and Alsudays et al, ( 2020 ), as a high percentage of mothers answered “yes” to the statement “Ear discharge can cause hearing loss”. These results were probably due to the high prevalence of otitis media with effusion in the developing countries, which lends ear discharge as a known cause of hearing loss (Olusanya et al, 2006 ).…”

“…Of the participants, 70% were aware that hearing loss could be congenital, which was explained by the answer “Yes” to the “Babies can be born with hearing loss” statement. Such results were consistent with studies by Wang et al, ( 2017 ), Alsudays et al, ( 2020 ), and Olusanya et al, ( 2006 ), as the knowledge about the congenital hearing loss was high in their studies but was contradictory to the results of Ayas & Yaseen ( 2021 ), Kaspar et al, ( 2017 ) and Ravi et al, ( 2016 ), as the awareness about congenital hearing loss was low. Such inconsistencies might be due to educational levels, as a statistically significant correlation was found between the educational level and this statement in the present study (r = .242, p = .015).…”

“…Furthermore, children who are exposed to sign language during infancy can develop age-expected vocabulary skills, also, early visual language experience affected children’s letter-writing skills and supported literacy development (Caselli et al, 2021 ; Wilbur, 2000 ). These results were in line with Wang et al, ( 2017 ) and Swanepoel & Almec ( 2008 ), but the percentages were higher than those in Alsudays et al, ( 2020 ) and Ayas & Yaseen ( 2021 ). Such differences might be caused by the lack of programs that might increase community awareness among mothers, as Ayas & Yaseen ( 2021 ) explained.…”

“…Another study from the Solomon Islands aimed to develop health promotion activities for reducing preventable causes of congenital hearing loss (Kaspar et al, 2017 ). Regarding the studies performed in Arab countries, two studies have been performed in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to evaluate parental knowledge and attitudes toward childhood hearing loss (Alsudays et al, 2020 ; Ayas & Yaseen, 2021 ). These studies show the need to increase awareness and knowledge among parents about congenital hearing loss and UNHS, as poor knowledge about important risk factors such as jaundice and measles has been noticed, in addition to poor knowledge about early intervention and identification (Olusanya et al, 2006 ; Rajagopalan et al, 2014 ; Swanepoel & Almec, 2008 ).…”