2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
10/13/2017 | 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Clinical efficacy of smartphone-based hearing screening for pre-school children in mHealth assisted community-based ECD centers | West Ballroom at Shalala Student Services Building
Clinical efficacy of smartphone-based hearing screening for pre-school children in mHealth assisted community-based ECD centers
Introduction: Hearing loss is one of the most common developmental disorders identifiable at birth with it’s prevalence increasing throughout school years. High estimates of visual impairment have also been reported with approximately 19 million children affected worldwide. However, early detection and identification programs are still scarce in developing countries where majority of children affected are born and environmental risks are greater. Results are that a large number of children are still unidentified at the time of school entry thus increasing a child’s risk for failure and dropout from school. Integration of inexpensive mHealth hearing and vision solutions in early childhood development (ECD) centers may provide the first opportunity for the identification of hearing and visual concerns that may constitute a barrier to future learning.
Method: Community-members were trained to screen children attending ECD centers in an underserved community. Children were screened using automated test protocols employed by the hearScreenTM and Peek Acuity application operating on low cost Android phones. 6697 and 3379 children were screened for hearing and vision respectively.
Results: Data analysis was conducted on 6697 children (2-18years), which indicated a referral rate of 25.2%. Referral rates were highest at lower test frequencies (left: 18.7%; right: 21.2%) as opposed to higher test frequencies (left: 9.9%; right: 11.1%). These referral rates may be attributed to the high prevalence of childhood middle-ear disorders and exceeded MPANLs. A referral rate of 12.5% was found in children who received a vision screening.
Conclusion: Hearing and vision screening using low-cost mobile health technology can provide an efficient and cost effective solution to detect sensory impairments in children prior to school entry.
- To describe the efficacy of smartphone hearing screening in pre-school children in terms of coverage rate, referral rate and time proficiency of the smartphone hearing screening application.
- To describe the efficacy of smartphone hearing screening in pre-school children in terms of the reliability of the hearing screenings and compliance of the test environment.
- To describe the efficacy of smartphone hearing screening in pre-school children in terms of follow-up return rate.
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Presenters/Authors
Shouneez Yousuf Hussein
(), Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa, shouneezyousuf@gmail.com;
Shouneez Yousuf Hussein is a student from the Central Islamic School in Pretoria, South Africa. She received her degree in B. Communication Pathology: Audiology with cum laude in 2012 from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, after which she completed her community service at Tshwane District Hospital. She had thereafter completed her Masters Degree with cum laude at the University of Pretoria in 2015. She is currently completing her PhD in Audiology under the supervision of Prof. De Wet Swanepoel. Her current research focuses on utilizing innovative technologies to integrate ear and hearing health care service delivery within early childhood development programs in order to reach underserved populations.
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De Wet Swanepoel
(), University of Pretoria, Pretoria , South Africa; Ear Sciences Centre, School of Surgery , The University of Western Australia, Nedlands , Australia; Ear Science Institute Australia , Subiaco , Australia; Callier Center for Communication Disorders , University of Texas at Dallas , USA, dewet.swanepoel@up.ac.za;
De Wet Swanepoel is professor in audiology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and a senior research fellow at the Ear Science Institute Australia with adjunct positions at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Western Australia. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters and has received numerous awards in recognition of his work. His research capitalises on the growth in information and communication technologies to explore, develop and evaluate innovative solutions to improve access to ear and hearing health care. He is lead inventor of the award winning and patented hearScreenTM smartphone hearing test. Prof Swanepoel also serves as associate editor for the International Journal of Audiology, as president-elect for the International Society of Audiology and as co-chair for the telehealth task force of the American Academy of Audiology.
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Leigh Biagio de Jager
(), Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa, leigh.biagio@up.ac.za;
Leigh Biagio de Jager obtained her B.Communication Pathology in 1997, M.Communication Pathology degree Cum Laude in 2009 and D.Phil Communication Pathology in 2015. Apart from three years spent as a paediatric audiological scientist in United Kingdom, Leigh has been in private audiological practice in South Africa for 17 years. Leigh is currently employed at the Department of Speech-Language Therapy and Audiology at the University of Pretoria for the past 2 years. Her research area is auditory electrophysiology, intraoperative monitoring of CN VIII and hearing telehealth.
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Faheema Mahomed-Asmail
(), University of Pretoria, faheema.mahomed@up.ac.za;
Faheema Mahomed-Asmail is a lecturer and clinical research audiologist at the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her research and clinical interests are in the field of telehealth and early identification and diagnosis of school-aged hearing loss, including screening, diagnostic assessment, the use of mobile technology and automated testing. She completed her masters degree in 2013 (Cum Laude) and won the research masters degree prize, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria. Faheema is completed her PhD in school-based hearing screening and diagnosis. She has also published in peer-reviewed journals and is a reviewer for international and local Journals.
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Karina Swanepoel
(), University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, karinaswanepoel@live.com;
As an Audiologist, new to the field of research, I have a keen interest in improving access to hearing healthcare, particularly in under-served world regions such as sub-Sahara Africa, through novel service delivery models. In 2015, I obtained my Bachelors Degree in Audiology in 2015 where I received the South Africa Speech Language and Hearing Association (SASLHA) prize for best student in clinical Audiology, as well as the South African Association of Audiologists (SAAA) prize for the best student in practical Audiology. Since obtaining my Bachelor's Degree, I have been practicing clinical Audiology for two years. At the beginning of 2017, I have started my Master's degree at the University of Pretoria, South Africa where I aim to improve on the current practice of detection of hearing loss through translational research.
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