Community-Based Hearing and Vision Screening in Schools in Low-Income Communities Using Mobile Health Technologies

Autor/inn/en	Manus, Michelle; van der Linde, Jeannie; Kuper, Hannah; Olinger, Renate; Swanepoel, De Wet
Titel	Community-Based Hearing and Vision Screening in Schools in Low-Income Communities Using Mobile Health Technologies
Quelle	In: Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52 (2021) 2, S.568-580 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Manus, Michelle) ORCID (van der Linde, Jeannie) ORCID (Kuper, Hannah) ORCID (Swanepoel, De Wet)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0161-1461
Schlagwörter	Hearing Impairments; Visual Impairments; Screening Tests; Low Income Groups; Telecommunications; Handheld Devices; Program Effectiveness; Foreign Countries; Auditory Tests; Vision Tests; Elementary School Students; Elementary Schools; Preschools; Preschool Children; Access to Health Care; Community Health Services; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hearing impairment; Hörbehinderung; Visual handicap; Sehbehinderung; Screening-Verfahren; Telekommunikationstechnik; Ausland; Auditory test; Autismus; Sehtest; Elementary school; Grundschule; Volksschule; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	Introduction: Globally, more than 50 million children have hearing or vision loss. Most of these sensory losses are identified late due to a lack of systematic screening, making treatment and rehabilitation less effective. Mobile health (mHealth), which is the use of smartphones or wireless devices in health care, can improve access to screening services. mHealth technologies allow lay health workers (LHWs) to provide hearing and vision screening in communities. Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate a hearing and vision school screening program facilitated by LHWs using smartphone applications in a low-income community in South Africa. Method: Three LHWs were trained to provide dual sensory screening using smartphone-based applications. The hearScreen app with calibrated headphones was used to conduct screening audiometry, and the Peek Acuity app was used for visual acuity screening. Schools were selected from low-income communities (Gauteng, South Africa), and children aged between 4 and 9 years received hearing and vision screening. Screening outcomes, associated variables, and program costs were evaluated. Results: A total of 4,888 and 4,933 participants received hearing and vision screening, respectively. Overall, 1.6% of participants failed the hearing screening, and 3.6% failed visual acuity screening. Logistic regression showed that female participants were more likely to pass hearing screening (OR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.11, 2.54]), while older children were less likely to pass visual acuity screening (OR = 0.87, 95% CI [0.79, 0.96]). A third (32.5%) of referred cases followed up for air-conduction threshold audiometry, and one in four (25.1%) followed up for diagnostic vision testing. A high proportion of these cases were confirmed to have hearing (73.1%, 19/26) or vision loss (57.8%, 26/45). Conclusions: mHealth technologies can enable LHWs to identify school-age children with hearing and/or vision loss in low-income communities. This approach allows for low-cost, scalable models for early detection of sensory losses that can affect academic performance. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: lshss@asha.org; Web site: http://lshss.pubs.asha.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01