Abstract Details

<< Back to Schedule

10/27/2019  |   8:00 AM - 10:00 AM   |  Ventana Ballroom C

How the World’s Children Hear: A Narrative Review of School Hearing Screening Programs Globally

Objective: Childhood hearing loss is a significant global health concern with serious downstream consequences. School hearing screening represents an important public health approach to mitigate the effects of childhood hearing loss. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of existing school hearing screening programs around the world, identify gaps in the literature, and develop priorities for future research. Methods: A structured review of the literature was carried out by reviewing three databases: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library. A total of 65 articles were included in the study. The range of studies analyzed were comprised of prospective/retrospective studies, cross-sectional analyses, guidelines, protocol reports, commentaries, and other grey literature. All studies were examined qualitatively. Findings: School hearing screening is mandated in very few regions worldwide, and where recommendations exist, there is little accountability regarding whether testing is performed. Screening protocols differ in terms of screening tests included and thresholds used. The most common protocols included a mix of pure tone audiometry (screening at 0.5 k, 1 k, 2 k, and 4 kHz), otoscopy, and tympanometry. Estimates of region-specific disease prevalence were found to be methodologically inaccurate, and the concept of re-screening children who were referred on initial screening was poorly addressed. There were also ubiquitous concerns regarding loss-to-follow-up. Conclusion: Current school hearing screening protocols vary widely, and many regions do not have published screening guidelines. In addition, estimates of true hearing loss prevalence are lacking, and projections of screening test sensitivity and specificity are unreliable. There is an urgent need for additional studies to address these gaps.

• Understand what school hearing screening programs currently look like around the world
• Examine the potential issues surrounding the lack of standardization of school hearing screening programs
• Identify specific areas of future research necessary in the area of school hearing screening

Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

Handouts:
No handouts have been uploaded.

Michael Yong (POC,Primary Presenter,Author), University of British Columbia, mjcyong@gmail.com;
Michael Yong is a Resident Physician (Post-Graduate Year 4) in the Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of British Columbia. Under the support of the two-year Clinician Investigator Program research fellowship award from the University of British Columbia, he is currently studying at Johns Hopkins University as an MBA candidate with the Carey School of Business and an MPH candidate with the Bloomberg School of Public Health. His interests lie at the intersection of medicine, technology, business, and public health, where he is most drawn to addressing issues with healthcare efficiency using disruptive innovation. He is currently a research fellow working on a cost-effectiveness model of a hearing intervention in rural Alaska under Dr. Susan Emmett from Duke University, and a research fellow studying international hearing aid access at the Cochlear Centre of Aging and Hearing under Dr. Frank Lin at Johns Hopkins.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists. Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Neelima Panth (Author,Co-Author), Duke University, neelima.panth@duke.edu ;
tba

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Catherine McMahon (Co-Author), Macquarie University, cath.mcmahon@mq.edu.au;
Prof McMahon is the Director of Audiology and Director of the Research Centre H:EAR [Hearing, Education, Application, Research] at Macquarie University. She is a member of the Executive Committee of MQ Health, Macquarie’s health sciences centre, and a key scientist of the Hearing Co-operative Research Centre. Her research centres on understanding the barriers and facilitators of accessing and ultilising hearing healthcare and to develop innovative care pathways. She is also involved in the design and delivery of clinical trials to evaluate new diagnostics and therapies and developing the evidence-base to demonstrate the benefits of interventions.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Receives Salary,Grants for Employment,Other activities from Macquarie University.   Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Receives support from Macquarie University.

Peter Thorne (Co-Author), University of Auckland, pr.thorne@auckland.ac.nz;
tba

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Susan D. Emmett (Co-Author), Duke University School of Medicine Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research, susan.emmett@duke.edu;
tba

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.