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Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care

Dissertation (MCommPath)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

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Other Authors: Swanepoel, De Wet
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Swanepoel, De Wet
author_browse Swanepoel, De Wet
author_facet Swanepoel, De Wet
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 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.
description Dissertation (MCommPath)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53477
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:37.672Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53477 Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care Swanepoel, De Wet shouneezyousuf@gmail.com Biagio, Leigh Yousuf Hussein, Shouneez UCTD Dissertation (MCommPath)--University of Pretoria, 2015. 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. Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology MCommPath Unrestricted 2016-06-27T12:18:13Z 2016-06-27T12:18:13Z 2016-04-13 2015 Dissertation 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> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53477 en © 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. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care
title Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care
title_full Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care
title_fullStr Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care
title_full_unstemmed Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care
title_short Smartphone hearing screening in mHealth assisted community-based primary care
title_sort smartphone hearing screening in mhealth assisted community based primary care
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53477