Dataset Information

Hearing Health Awareness and the Need for Educational Outreach Amongst Teachers in Malawi.

ABSTRACT: Malawi, as a low-income country in southeastern Africa, severely lacks early identification, diagnosis and intervention measures for hearing loss. Due to its constrained resources, an educational awareness campaign targeted at professionals can be a cost-effective instrument in promoting good health care through awareness, prevention, and early identification of hearing loss. The aim of this study is to assess school teachers' knowledge of hearing health, audiology services, identification, and management of hearing issues before and after an educational intervention.

Methods

A Pre-Survey, followed by an educational intervention, and a Post-Survey were completed by teacher participants. A similar World Health Organization-derived survey was also administered to compare to our locally adapted survey. Trends related to efficacy, performance, and survey improvement were evaluated.

Results

A total of 387 teachers participated. The average score on the Post-Survey was significantly improved compared to the Pre-Survey (71% to 97% correct responses) with the educational intervention. The only predictive variable related to performance was the location of the school within the capital of Lilongwe compared to rural sites outside of the capital. Our locally adapted survey compared favorably to the WHO survey.

Conclusions

The results suggest that there is a statistically significant improvement in the implementation of an educational program to increase the knowledge and awareness of hearing health care among teachers. Some topics were more poorly understood than others, suggesting the need for targeted awareness interventions. Location within the capital city had some effect on performance but a high rate of correct responses was achievable across the participants independent of age, teaching experience, or gender. Our data support the idea that hearing health awareness interventions can be an effective and low-cost option to equip teachers to effectively serve as an advocate for improved identification, early diagnosis and appropriate referral of students with hearing loss.

SUBMITTER: Kapalamula G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10135795 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hearing Health Awareness and the Need for Educational Outreach Amongst Teachers in Malawi.

Kapalamula Grant G Gordie Kelly K Khomera Memory M Porterfield J Zachary JZ Toman Julia J Vallario Jenna J

Audiology research 20230412 2

Malawi, as a low-income country in southeastern Africa, severely lacks early identification, diagnosis and intervention measures for hearing loss. Due to its constrained resources, an educational awareness campaign targeted at professionals can be a cost-effective instrument in promoting good health care through awareness, prevention, and early identification of hearing loss. The aim of this study is to assess school teachers' knowledge of hearing health, audiology services, identification, and ...[more]

PMID: 37102774

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Project description:IntroductionEquity in the access and use of health services is critical if countries are to make progress towards universal health coverage and address the systematic exclusion of the most vulnerable groups. The purpose of this study was to assess if the Co-ordinated Approach To Community Health programme implemented by Sightsavers was successful in reaching the poorest population, women, and people living with disabilities in Kasungu district, Malawi.MethodsBetween April and September 2017, data on socio-economic status, household characteristics and functional disability were collected from patients attending at eye camps in Kasungu district, Malawi. Using asset-based tools to measure household wealth (EquityTool© and Simple Poverty Scorecard©) and the Washington Group Short Set of Questions, individuals were categorised by wealth quintiles, poverty status, and functional disability status and then compared to relevant representative national household surveys. In addition, a follow-up household survey was conducted to check the validity of self-reported household characteristics at eye camps.ResultsA total of 1,358 individuals participated in the study. The study shows that self-reported data on household characteristics and assets are reliable and can be collected in clinical settings (instead of relying on direct observations of assets). Individuals attending outreach camps were poorer in terms of relative wealth and absolute poverty rates compared to the rest of the population in Kasungu. It was estimated that 9% of the participants belonged to the poorest quintile compared to 4% for the population in Kasungu (DHS 2015-2016). The ultra-poverty rate was also lower among respondents (13%) compared to 15% for Kasungu district (IHS 2017). The functional disability rate was 27.5% for study participants, and statistically higher than the general population (5.6%, SENTIF 2017). Even though women are more at risks than men, 54% of the participants were men.ConclusionsOur study shows that existing tools can be reliably used, and combined, if based on recent population data, to assess equity of access to health services for vulnerable groups of the population. The findings suggest that the programme was successful in reaching the poorest people of the Kasungu district population as well as those with disabilities through outreach camps but that more men than women were reach through the programme. Subsequently, our study showed that self-reported household characteristics are a reliable method to measure asset-based wealth of camps' attendee. However, it is essential to use sub-national data (district or regional level) from recent surveys for the purpose of benchmarking in order to produce accurate results.

Project description:BackgroundHearing loss is highly prevalent and the third largest cause of years lived with disability. The most frequent cause of adult-onset hearing loss is older age. As the retirement age increases in many countries, a growing number of workers will experience hearing loss, which may affect work participation. Limited research has been done on the consequences of hearing loss in workers in communicative professions. The present study examines the associations of hearing loss with work ability and sick leave among teachers.MethodsDutch teachers were recruited via schools, educational sector organizations, and trade unions. Teachers completed a survey questionnaire and performed a valid and reliable online speech-in-noise screening test for hearing loss. The survey measured work ability with the single-item Work Ability Score (range 0-10); scores were dichotomised into poor-moderate (score 0-7) and good-excellent (score 8-10) work ability. Teachers were asked if they had been on sick leave in the past three months (no / yes; if yes: how many days). Robust Poisson regression analyses were performed to examine the cross-sectional associations of hearing loss with both work ability (poor to moderate versus good to excellent) and sick leave (yes versus no), adjusted for age, sex, level of education, type of work tasks (only teaching versus a mixture with other (e.g. management) tasks, current work hours per week, and working as a physical education teacher.ResultsA total of 737 teachers participated in the study, of whom 86 (12%) had poor and 146 (20%) insufficient hearing. Teachers with poor and insufficient hearing had a higher prevalence of poor-moderate work ability than good hearing teachers (Prevalence Ratio (PR) = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.36-2.06 and PR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.16-1.70, respectively). Teachers with poor hearing had a higher prevalence of sick leave than good hearing teachers (PR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.21-2.01).ConclusionsAmong teachers, hearing loss was associated with poorer work ability and more sick leave. The results highlight the need for periodic hearing screening as recommended by the WHO. Earlier detection of hearing loss could enable timely work accommodations to prevent work disability of teachers.

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Project description:BackgroundThe well-documented shortages of health care workers (HCWs) in sub-Saharan Africa are further intensified by the increased human resource needs of expanding HIV treatment programs. Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and a sense of low personal accomplishment (PA). HCWs' burnout can negatively impact the delivery of health services. Our main objective was to examine the prevalence of burnout amongst HCWs in Malawi and explore its relationship to self-reported suboptimal patient care.MethodsA cross-sectional study among HCWs providing HIV care in 89 facilities, across eight districts in Malawi was conducted. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory defined as scores in the mid-high range on the EE or DP subscales. Nine questions adapted for this study assessed self-reported suboptimal patient care. Surveys were administered anonymously and included socio-demographic and work-related questions. Validated questionnaires assessed depression and at-risk alcohol use. Chi-square test or two-sample t-test was used to explore associations between variables and self-reported suboptimal patient care. Bivariate analyses identified candidate variables (p < 0.2). Final regression models included variables with significant main effects.ResultsOf 520 HCWs, 62% met criteria for burnout. In the three dimensions of burnout, 55% reported moderate-high EE, 31% moderate-high DP, and 46% low-moderate PA. The majority (89%) reported engaging in suboptimal patient care/attitudes including making mistakes in treatment not due to lack of knowledge/experience (52%), shouting at patients (45%), and not performing diagnostic tests due to a desire to finish quickly (35%). In multivariate analysis, only burnout remained associated with self-reported suboptimal patient care (OR 3.22, [CI 2.11 to 4.90]; p<0.0001).ConclusionBurnout was common among HCWs providing HIV care and was associated with self-reported suboptimal patient care practices/attitudes. Research is needed to understand factors that contribute to and protect against burnout and that inform the development of strategies to reduce burnout.

Dataset Information

Hearing Health Awareness and the Need for Educational Outreach Amongst Teachers in Malawi.

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Hearing Health Awareness and the Need for Educational Outreach Amongst Teachers in Malawi.

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