Gown versus town relationship in hearing health: Implication for international best practices in hearing health practices in Africa

Authors

  • Olufemi Adigun National University of Lesotho, Lesotho
  • Barnabas Bem Vangerwua Federal Universith of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38140/ijspsy.v3i2.933

Keywords:

Hearing healthcare, audiology, hearing impairment, international best practices, Sub-Sahara Africa

Abstract

Africans are well-represented among the global population of persons with hearing impairment. Various initiatives have previously been implemented to curb the rise in the population of persons with hearing impairment. However, practice among hearing healthcare professionals according to international best standards in Africa remains a mirage. Adopting the literature review approach, this study established, among other factors, that the percentage of hearing healthcare professionals is lower than that of patients needing hearing care services. Hence, emphasis on practicing according to international best practices may be impossible. Therefore, this study advanced some recommendations that would foster hearing healthcare practice in Africa that is in tune with internationally acceptable standards of operation.

References

Abera Abaerei, A., Ncayiyana, J., & Levin, J. (2017). Health-care utilization and associated factors in Gauteng province, South Africa. Global Health Action, 10(1), 1305765. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2017.1305765.

Adigun O. T., & Mngomezulu T. P. (2020). ‘They forget i’m deaf’: Exploring the experience and perception of deaf pregnant women attending antenatal clinic/care in Ibadan, Nigeria. Annals of Global Health, 86(1), 96, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2942.

Adigun, O. T., & Vangerwua, B. B. (2020). Influence of contralateral routing of signals on sound localization of adult males with single sided deafness. Gender and Behaviour, 18(3), 15957-5963. Retrieved from https://www.ajol.info/index.php/gab/article/view/203290.

Ahmad, S. (2013). Paradigms of quality of work life. Journal of Human Values, 19(1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971685812470345.

Banda, F. M., Powis, K. M., Mokoka, A. B., Mmapetla, M., Westmoreland, K. D., David, T., & Steenhoff, A. P. (2018). Hearing impairment among children referred to a public audiology clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. Global Pediatric Health, 5, 2333794X18770079. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X18770079.

Cilliers, G. (1980). ‘n Beroepstudie van spraakterapeute en oudioloe. Pretoria: RGN. Verslagnr. MM79.

El-Begermy, M. A., Deghady, H. A., El-Seidy, N., Ezzat, A., El-Begermy, M. M., AlAqel, A. W., ... & Nafie, Y. (2020). Save the hearing, an ear surgery training project program to combat deafness in developing countries. The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology, 36(32), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43163-020-00022-4.

Falchetta, G., Hammad, A. T., & Shayegh, S. (2020). Planning universal accessibility to public health care in sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(50), 31760-31769. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2009172117.

Goulios, H., & Patuzzi, R. B. (2008). Audiology education and practice from an international perspective. International Journal of Audiology, 47(10), 647–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992020802203322.

Hamid, O., Khatib, O. M., Aly, A., Morad, M., & Kamel, S. (2007). Prevalence and patterns of hearing impairment in Egypt: a national household survey. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 13(5), 1170-1180. Retrieved from https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/117363.

Hamid, O., Shokry, T., & Shehata W. (2010). Prevalence and pattern of hearing loss in house-held national survey in Egypt. EJENTAS, 11, 12–16.

Jayawardena, A. D., Kahue, C. N., Cummins, S. M., & Netterville, J. L. (2018). Expanding the capacity of otolaryngologists in Kenya through mobile technology. OTO open, 2(1), 2473974X18766824. https://doi.org/10.1177/2473974X18766824.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2019). 2019 Kenya population and housing census - population by county and sub county-Kenya Data Portal. Retrieved from https://kenya.opendataforafrica.org.

Meador, H. E. & Zazove, P. (2005). Health care interactions with deaf culture. The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 18(3), 218-222. https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.18.3.218.

Olusanya, B. O., Luxon, L. M., & Wirz, S. L. (2005). Childhood deafness poses problems in developing countries. BMJ (Clinical research ed). 330(7489), 480. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7489.480-c.

Olusanya, B. O., Neumann, K. J., & Saunders, J. E. (2014). The global burden of disabling hearing impairment: a call to action. Bull World Health Organ., 92(5), 367–73. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.13.128728.

Opinya, G., & Njama, J. A. (2018). Survey of hearing impairment in inclusion schools in Kenya. International Journal of Science and Research, 1710-1713. https://doi.org/10.21275/ART20196375.

Oyekola, I. A., Ajani, O. A., & Oyeyipo, E. J. (2021). Factors influencing access to reliable healthcare financing among elderly population in Africa. In Healthcare Access. Intech Open. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99578.

Oyewumi, A. M., Isaiah, O. O., & Adigun, O. T. (2015). Influence of social networking on the psychological adjustment of adolescents with hearing impairment in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Net Journal of Social Sciences, 3(1), 17-24. Retrieved from https://www.netjournals.org/pdf/NJSS/2015/1/15-015.pdf.

Pillay, M., Tiwari, R., Kathard, H., & Chikte, U. (2020). Sustainable workforce: South African audiologists and speech therapists. Human Resources for Health, 18(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00488-6.

Ratanjee-Vanmali, H., Swanepoel, D. W., & Laplante-Levesque, A. (2019). Characteristics, behaviours and readiness of persons seeking hearing healthcare online. International Journal of Audiology, 58(2), 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2018.1516895.

Rowden-Racette, K. (2010). Audiologist’s Mission Promotes Hearing Health in Kenya. https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.WB.15042010.26.

Swanepoel, D. W. (2006). Audiology in South Africa. International Journal of Audiology, 45(5), 262-266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14992020500485650.

Swanepoel, D. W., Olusanya, B. O., & Mars, M. (2010). Hearing health-care delivery in sub-Saharan Africa–a role for tele-audiology. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 16(2), 53-56. https://doi.org/10.1258/jtt.2009.009003.

Swanepoel, D., & Clark, J. L. (2018). Hearing healthcare in remote or resource-constrained environments. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, 133(1), 11-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215118001159.

Taha, H., Halabi, Y., Berggren, V., Jaouni, S., Nyström, L., Al-Qutob, R., & Wahlström, R. (2010). Educational intervention to improve breast health knowledge among women in Jordan. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 11(5), 1167-1173. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/VanjaBerggren/publication/49721238.

The African Academy of Sciences. (2020). Why Africa needs to address deafness. Retrieved from https://www.aasciences.africa/news/why-africa-needs-address-deafness.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2017). Prevention of deafness and hearing loss. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf.

World Bank. (2021). Population, total-Botswana. Retrieved from https://www.data.worldbank.org.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2013). Multi-country Assessment of National Capacity to Provide Hearing Care. Geneva: World Health Organization.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2021). World report on hearing. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Published

2023-11-15

How to Cite

Adigun, O., & Vangerwua, B. B. (2023). Gown versus town relationship in hearing health: Implication for international best practices in hearing health practices in Africa. International Journal of Studies in Psychology, 3(2), 48-52. https://doi.org/10.38140/ijspsy.v3i2.933