Prevalence of hearing loss in children living in low‐ and middle‐income countries over the last 10 years: A systematic review

Ganek, Hillary; Madubueze, Ada; Merritt, Catherine E; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.

doi:10.1111/dmcn.15460

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 53 publications

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“…Globally, approximately 34 million children have disabling hearing loss, defined as moderate or worse hearing (35 dB) in the better-hearing ear [1]. The percentage of children with hearing loss in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) is more than double compared with high-income countries (1% vs. 0.4%, respectively, and possibly as high as 3% in Africa) [2,3]. In Kenya, 14 in every 1,000 children have moderate or severe hearing loss, which is around 10 times higher than in the United States [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing Loss Detection and Early Intervention Strategies in Kenya

Ndegwa,

Pavlik,

Gallagher

et al. 2024

Annals of Global Health

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Background: Thirty-four million children globally have disabling hearing loss, with the highest prevalence in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Early identification and management is crucial, yet barriers to screening and treatment of hearing loss are extensive in LMICs. Unaddressed hearing loss negatively impacts individuals and communities. The WHO's 2021 World Report on Hearing urges the development of Ear and Hearing Care (EHC) programs to improve access to all aspects of care, including screening, diagnostics, management, and developmental support. A joint Nairobi-and Seattle-based group convened in 2021 to discuss strategies for program development in Kenya, as presented in this paper.Findings: Developing a national EHC program must include the necessary support services for a child with a diagnosed hearing loss, while simultaneously promoting engagement of family, community, and healthcare workers. Existing government and healthcare system policies and priorities can be leveraged for EHC programming. Strategies for success include strengthening connections between policymakers at national, county, and municipal levels and local champions for the EHC agenda, with a concurrent focus on policy, early detection and intervention, habilitation, and familycentered care. Updates to health policy and funding to support the accessibility of services and equipment should focus on leveraging national healthcare coverage for hearing technologies and services, strengthening referral pathways, training to bolster the workforce, and metrics for monitoring and evaluation. Additional strategies to support forward progress include strategic engagement of partners and leveraging local partners for phased scale-up.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing Loss Detection and Early Intervention Strategies in Kenya

Ndegwa,

Pavlik,

Gallagher

et al. 2024

Annals of Global Health

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Identifying data elements and key features to design a telerehabilitation system for speech and language disorders in children with hearing impairments in Iran: A cross‐sectional study

Ebrahimi,

Zakerabbasali,

Oryadi

et al. 2024

Health Science Reports

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Background and AimsDesigning and implementing telerehabilitation systems would require the identification of data elements to meet disabled people's needs. An in‐depth study on the identification and validation of data elements can help design and implement telerehabilitation systems successfully. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and validate data elements to design a telerehabilitation system for the speech and language disorders of hearing‐impaired children in Iran.MethodsThis descriptive cross‐sectional study was conducted in three steps including literature review, focused group discussion, and Delphi technique implementation to extract and validate data elements. In the first step, the literature on electronic databases was reviewed to extract the data elements of telerehabilitation systems, and nine studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria. In the second step, a focused group discussion was held to review and classify the extracted data elements. Finally, the Delphi technique was employed to validate the drafted data elements.ResultsIn total, 352 data elements were extracted from the literature review. Finally, 102 data elements in 10 categories (Demographic and Clinical information of the disabled person, Clinical history, Demographic information of the provider, Customization of exercises, Reminders, Online and offline counseling, and training, Reporting, Key features of the system, Evaluation of the progress of the disabled person) were classified and validated by experts as essential data elements to design a telerehabilitation system for the speech and language disorders of hearing‐impaired children.ConclusionsThe necessary data elements were proposed as the foundations to design a telerehabilitation system for the speech and language disorders of hearing‐impaired children. These data elements help design and implement telerehabilitation systems successfully so that such systems can easily be provided for children with hearing disabilities.

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Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programmes for neonates, infants and children in non-Asian low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Rajanbabu,

Joshi B,

Ramkumar

et al. 2024

bmjpo

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IntroductionEarly Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programmes were established to reduce the impact of hearing loss on children. High-income countries (HICs) have resources and knowledge to execute these programmes. However, financial and other resource constraints limit the availability of these programmes to low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet, LMICs have explored strategies to implement EHDI programmes in their context; the outcomes are still largely unknown.The aim of this study is to identify the various models of the EHDI program implemented in non-Asian LMICs.AimMethodStudies published between 2010 and 2023 reporting EHDI programmes in non-Asian LMICs for children were considered. The primary databases searched were PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOHost, EBSCO-CINAHL and ProQuest dissertations. The search results are summarised using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses chart. Quality appraisal and risk-of-bias assessment were assessed. Using the retrieved data, a narrative synthesis of the identified methods and forest plots for the prevalence estimate was created.ResultsFifty-six studies from 16 LMICs were included. They were grouped into 29 hearing screening programmes for neonates and infants and 26 programmes for older children. Predominantly hospital-based screening was employed for neonates and infants and school-based screening for older children. Two-stage otoacoustic emissions screening was employed for neonates and infants, while single-stage pure tone audiometry with otoscopy screening was used for older children. Predominantly, audiologists performed screening and diagnostics for neonates/infants while community health workers performed screening for the older children. Screening aspects were reported predominantly and not diagnostic evaluation/intervention outcomes. Overall, the economics of EHDI was reported only anecdotally in a few studies.ConclusionThe screening strategies were not uniform among non-Asian LMICs. The protocols used were similar to HICs, yet few developed protocols adapting the Joint Committee of Infant Hearing. However, long-term outcomes such as rate of identification, suitable intervention and their outcomes are not known. EHDI programmes with successful outcomes of early intervention must be studied and reported with economic evaluations.

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Prevalence of hearing loss in children living in low‐ and middle‐income countries over the last 10 years: A systematic review

Cited by 8 publications

References 53 publications

Hearing Loss Detection and Early Intervention Strategies in Kenya

Hearing Loss Detection and Early Intervention Strategies in Kenya

Identifying data elements and key features to design a telerehabilitation system for speech and language disorders in children with hearing impairments in Iran: A cross‐sectional study

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programmes for neonates, infants and children in non-Asian low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review

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