dc.contributor.advisor |
Swanepoel, De Wet |
en |
dc.contributor.coadvisor |
Biagio, Leigh |
en |
dc.contributor.postgraduate |
Yousuf Hussein, Shouneez |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2016-06-27T12:18:13Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2016-06-27T12:18:13Z |
|
dc.date.created |
2016-04-13 |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2015 |
en |
dc.description |
Dissertation (MCommPath)--University of Pretoria, 2015. |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
Available ear and hearing health care services are not sufficient to meet the
burden of disabling hearing loss, particularly within developing countries such
as South Africa. Attempts to meet the needs of underserved populations may
require a move towards community-based primary care along with the
integration of recent mHealth approaches whereby primary health care
personnel facilitate ear and hearing health care. The objective of this study
was to determine the clinical utility of a community-based program for
identification of hearing loss, using smartphone hearing screening
(hearScreenTM) operated by community health care workers (CHWs), in a
developing South African community and to survey experiences of the CHWs.
An exploratory, descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. The
study comprised two phases. During phase one, 24 CHWs were trained to
conduct hearing screening in the underserved community of Mamelodi using
automated test protocols (sweep performed at 1, 2 and 4kHz bilaterally at an
intensity of 25dB HL for children and 35dB HL for adults), employed by the
hearScreenTM mHealth solution operating on low cost Android phones using
calibrated headphones (Sennheiser HD202 II). A total of 820 community
members were screened for hearing loss over a 12-week period. The results
were analyzed in terms of referral rates of the hearing screening program,
compliance of test environment noise during screening, and time proficiency
of the screenings. During phase 2, CHWs completed a questionnaire
regarding their perceptions and experiences of the hearing screening
program.
Data analysis was conducted on 108 children (2-15 years) and 598 adults
(16-85 years) screened. Referral rates for children and adults were 12% and
6.5% respectively. Noise levels only had a significant effect on referral results
at low intensities of 25dB HL at 1KHz (p<0.05). Age effects were significant
for adult referral rates (p<0.05) demonstrating a significantly lower referral
rate in younger (below 45 years) as opposed to older (45 years and above)
adults (4.3% compared to 13.2%). Majority of CHWs responded positively
regarding their involvement and experiences using the hearScreenTM tool in terms of usability, need for services, value to community members and time
efficiency.
Results of this study indicated that community-based hearing screening
programs can be successfully integrated into underserved contexts by CHWs
using an mHealth solution. The hearScreenTM smartphone application offers
benefits such as automated test protocols and interpretation, integrated noise
monitoring, data capturing and data sharing. Appointment of a program
coordinator, as well as the integration of informational counseling and minor
software changes were recommended towards an effective and sustainable
program. |
en |
dc.description.availability |
Unrestricted |
en |
dc.description.degree |
MCommPath |
en |
dc.description.department |
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology |
en |
dc.identifier.citation |
Yousuf Hussein, S 2015, Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care, MCommPath Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53477> |
en |
dc.identifier.other |
A2016 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53477 |
|
dc.language.iso |
en |
en |
dc.publisher |
University of Pretoria |
en_ZA |
dc.rights |
© 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
en |
dc.subject |
UCTD |
en |
dc.title |
Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care |
en |
dc.type |
Dissertation |
en |