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The public healthcare sector of Mauritius : knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health workers
Mauritius does not have community health
workers trained in identifying risk factors for hearing loss
or in referring patients for diagnostic testing. It is crucial
to gather information about the knowledge of and attitudes
toward hearing loss among community health workers
before involving them in the identification and intervention
of hearing loss in Mauritius. To describe the knowledge of
and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health
workers in Mauritius. A descriptive survey design with quantitative
analysis was used. Using non‑probability purposive
sampling, 125 community health workers which included 94
community health officers and 31 community‑based rehabilitation
officers were recruited from the five catchment areas of
the public healthcare sector. Participants filled in a 15‑item
paper‑based questionnaire on the knowledge of and attitudes
toward hearing loss. The questionnaire was internally consistent,
with Cronbach alpha scores of 0.759 and 0.863. The
overall knowledge of community health workers regarding
risk factors and the identification of hearing loss was poor
(38.3%). 92.6% of community health workers reported positive
attitudes toward hearing loss. General knowledge of
hearing loss (P=0.015) and knowledge of risk factors and
identification of hearing loss (P=0.005) were significant
predictors of attitudes toward hearing loss. Knowledge of
and attitudes toward hearing loss were significantly associated
with working experience and practice setting (P=0.004).
There remains a need to educate community health workers
about the risk factors and identification of hearing loss to
ensure timely diagnosis and management of hearing loss at
the community level.
Description:
AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIAL : The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS : Part of this manuscript was presented orally at the 6th Malaysian Audiology Scientific Conference (MASCO) which was held virtually on the 13th‑15th October 2022. Part of this manuscript was also presented orally at the International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research held on the 8th‑9th December 2022 at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Balaclava, Mauritius.