Audiologists' perceptions of hearing healthcare resources and services in South Africa's public healthcare system

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dc.contributor.author Bhamjee, Aaqilah
dc.contributor.author Le Roux, Talita
dc.contributor.author Schlemmer, Kurt
dc.contributor.author Graham, Marien Alet
dc.contributor.author Mahomed-Asmail, Faheema
dc.date.accessioned 2023-04-25T11:46:49Z
dc.date.available 2023-04-25T11:46:49Z
dc.date.issued 2022-11
dc.description.abstract BACKGROUND : Hearing loss poses a significant burden globally. Its prevalence is exceptionally high in countries across the African region, where healthcare resources and services remain inaccessible. This study aimed to describe audiologists’ perceptions regarding hearing healthcare resources and services within South Africa’s public healthcare system. METHODS : A national self-developed telephonic survey was conducted with audiologists in public healthcare system hospitals across South Africa, with the final sample comprising 100 audiologists. RESULTS : Most (82%) audiologists indicated that their hospitals did not have adequate hearing healthcare resources to render efficient audiology services to patients. Binaural amplification devices (invasive and non-invasive) for adults with bilateral hearing loss who adhered to the criteria for these devices were perceived to be unavailable in most hospitals. Audiologists also perceived that universal newborn hearing screening services, adult aural rehabilitation services, and follow-up care for all hearing devices post-warranty expiration were limited. CONCLUSION : Efforts should be made to upsurge hearing healthcare resources, including increasing the financial budgets allocated to audiology resources so that increased diagnostic and screening audiology equipment and hearing devices can be procured where required, and additional audiologists can be employed within the South African public sector hospitals where needed. en_US
dc.description.department Science, Mathematics and Technology Education en_US
dc.description.department Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology en_US
dc.description.librarian hj2023 en_US
dc.description.sponsorship Andrew W Mellon Foundation. en_US
dc.description.uri https://journals.sagepub.com/home/HIS en_US
dc.identifier.citation Bhamjee, A., Le Roux, T., Schlemmer, K., Graham, M.A. & Mahomed-Asmail, F. Audiologists’ Perceptions of Hearing Healthcare Resources and Services in South Africa’s Public Healthcare System. Health Services Insights. 2022;15. doi:10.1177/11786329221135424. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1178-6329 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1177/11786329221135424
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90485
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Sage en_US
dc.rights © The Author(s) 2022.This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). en_US
dc.subject Hearing loss en_US
dc.subject Hearing healthcare en_US
dc.subject Hearing resources en_US
dc.subject Hearing intervention en_US
dc.subject South Africa (SA) en_US
dc.title Audiologists' perceptions of hearing healthcare resources and services in South Africa's public healthcare system en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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