2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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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.