scholarly journals Prevalence and characteristics of hearing and vision loss in preschool children from low income South African communities: results of a screening program of 10,390 children

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Eksteen ◽  
Robert H. Eikelboom ◽  
Hannah Kuper ◽  
Stefan Launer ◽  
De Wet Swanepoel
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
South African ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sensory Impairments ◽  
African Community

Abstract Background The majority of children with sensory impairments live in low- and middle-income countries. More studies of hearing and vision impairment prevalence are needed, in order to generate more accurate estimates of trends in sensory impairments. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and describe the characteristics of hearing and vision loss among preschool children (4–7 years) in an underserved South African community following community-based mobile health (mHealth) supported hearing and vision services. Methods A screening program of sensory impairments was undertaken of children attending preschools in the communities of Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, from September 2017 until June 2019. Hearing and vision screening were done by trained community health workers using mHealth technology. Children who failed hearing and vision screening were seen for follow-up assessments at their preschools. Follow-up assessments were conducted using smartphones that host point-of-care validated and calibrated hearing and vision testing applications (hearTest app, hearX Group, South Africa and PeekAcuity app, Peek Vision, United Kingdom). Descriptive statistical analysis and logistic regression analysis were conducted after extracting data from a secure cloud-based server (mHealth Studio, hearX Group) to Microsoft Excel (2016). Results A total of 10,390 children were screened at 298 preschools over 22 months. Of the children screened, 5.6 and 4.4% of children failed hearing and vision screening respectively. Community-based follow-up hearing tests were done at the preschools on 88.5% (514) of children of whom 240 children (54.2% female) presented with hearing loss. A preschool-based follow-up vision test was done on 400 children (88.1%). A total of 232 children (46.1% female) had a vision impairment, and a further 32 children passed the test but had obvious signs of ocular morbidity. Logistic regression analysis found that age was a significant predictor of vision loss (p < 0.05), but not for hearing loss (p = 0.06). Gender was not a significant predictor of hearing (p = 0.22) or vision loss (p = 0.20). Conclusions Hearing loss is prevalent in at least 22 per 1000 and vision loss in at least 23 per 1000 preschool children in an underserved South African community. Timely identification of sensory losses can be facilitated through community-based hearing and vision services supported by mHealth technology.

Hearing loss in preschool children from a low income South African community

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 145-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shouneez Yousuf Hussein ◽  
De Wet Swanepoel ◽  
Faheema Mahomed-Asmail ◽  
Leigh Biagio de Jager
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
South African ◽  
Low Income ◽  
African Community

Vision Screening in Central Iowa

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeri K. Gustafson ◽  
Marilyn J. Kinne ◽  
Donita G. Little ◽  
MaryAnn T. Strawhacker
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Screening Practices ◽  
Education Agency ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Screening Procedures ◽  
Visual History

This study assessed the vision-screening practices of all preschools and elementary schools during the spring of 2000 in the Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) in central Iowa. Surveys were returned by 7% of the preschools and 56% of the elementary schools. Survey questions were drafted based on recommendations from the Iowa Vision Screening Program Guidelines, which were distributed to all Iowa school districts in 1997. Areas surveyed included vision-screening personnel, attainment of students’ visual history, rescreening practices, referral and follow-up, and screening procedures. Survey results indicated that there is a need for improvement to standardize vision-screening procedures within Heartland AEA. Time and effort are invested in activities that are not recommended, and not enough effort is being put into recommended activities such as obtaining vision histories, rescreening to avoid overreferrals, and follow-up to make sure students receive required treatment.

scholarly journals Community-Based Hearing and Vision Screening in Schools in Low-Income Communities Using Mobile Health Technologies

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Michelle Manus ◽  
Jeannie van der Linde ◽  
Hannah Kuper ◽  
Renate Olinger ◽  
De Wet Swanepoel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Hearing Screening ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Health Technologies

Introduction Globally, more than 50 million children have hearing or vision loss. Most of these sensory losses are identified late due to a lack of systematic screening, making treatment and rehabilitation less effective. Mobile health (mHealth), which is the use of smartphones or wireless devices in health care, can improve access to screening services. mHealth technologies allow lay health workers (LHWs) to provide hearing and vision screening in communities. Purpose The aim of the study was to evaluate a hearing and vision school screening program facilitated by LHWs using smartphone applications in a low-income community in South Africa. Method Three LHWs were trained to provide dual sensory screening using smartphone-based applications. The hearScreen app with calibrated headphones was used to conduct screening audiometry, and the Peek Acuity app was used for visual acuity screening. Schools were selected from low-income communities (Gauteng, South Africa), and children aged between 4 and 9 years received hearing and vision screening. Screening outcomes, associated variables, and program costs were evaluated. Results A total of 4,888 and 4,933 participants received hearing and vision screening, respectively. Overall, 1.6% of participants failed the hearing screening, and 3.6% failed visual acuity screening. Logistic regression showed that female participants were more likely to pass hearing screening ( OR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.11, 2.54]), while older children were less likely to pass visual acuity screening ( OR = 0.87, 95% CI [0.79, 0.96]). A third (32.5%) of referred cases followed up for air-conduction threshold audiometry, and one in four (25.1%) followed up for diagnostic vision testing. A high proportion of these cases were confirmed to have hearing (73.1%, 19/26) or vision loss (57.8%, 26/45). Conclusions mHealth technologies can enable LHWs to identify school-age children with hearing and/or vision loss in low-income communities. This approach allows for low-cost, scalable models for early detection of sensory losses that can affect academic performance.

VISION SCREENING OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 966-967
Author(s):  
Robert B. Kugel ◽  
John B. Bartram ◽  
Roger B. Bost ◽  
James J. A. Cavanaugh ◽  
Virgil Hanson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Large Reservoir ◽  
Health Supervision ◽  
Successful Program ◽  
Eye Examination ◽  
Interim Measure ◽  
Community Cooperation ◽  
Or History

Ideally, an eye examination should be performed immediately after birth and periodically during the preschool years. These years are important because it is at this time that much of a child's relationship to his environment is being established through visual channels and treatment for visual disorders is most successful. At present, this is an impossible goal due to the large reservoir of preschool children, limited trained personnel and financial support, and lack of understanding by the publie of the importance of early eye care. As an interim measure, the most practical approach seems to be one of vision screening as part of the total health supervision of the preschool child. This would encompass children from 3 to 5 years of age and could be performed by trained paramedical personnel or volunteers with a minimum of equipment. For a successful program there must be community cooperation, approval, organization, education, and financing. A real effort must be made to contact that large group of children who are unknown to any service (physician) or agency. The screening itself has little value unless it is accompanied by adequate follow-up and resources to accept the referral and supervise the provision of proper care. CONDITIONS DETECTED BY SCREENING 1. Refractive errors. 2. Muscle imbalance. 3. Amblyopia. 4. Some eye diseases. SCREENING PROCEDURES A. Observation or history-applicable from birth. 1. Unusually large eyes, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing, cloudiness, inflammation, hemorrhage, abnormal eye movements, i.e., nystagmus. 2. Difficulty with focusing or persistent deviation of one eye after 6 months of age.

The Helen Keller Question Applied to Workplace Discrimination: Hearing Loss vs. Visual Loss

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-221
Author(s):  
Brian T. McMahon ◽  
Mykal J. Leslie ◽  
Grace W. Li ◽  
Phillip D. Rumrill ◽  
Paige E. Simpson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Visual Loss ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Workplace Discrimination ◽  
Sensory Loss ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Sensory Impairments ◽  
Ex Post Facto ◽  
Quantitative Design

BackgroundIn exploring the matter of sensory loss and job discrimination, the National EEOC ADA Research Project (NEARP) seeks to answer a singular question.ObjectiveHow do persons with hearing loss (HL) vs. visual loss (VL) experience the nature and scope of workplace discrimination differently, if at all?MethodsThe NEARP team uses an ex post facto, causal comparative quantitative design that includes descriptive and inferential, nonparametric statistics. Closed EEOC files involving ADA allegations of workplace discrimination filed by Americans with Hearing Loss (HL, N = 21,847) and Vision Loss (VL, N = 16,136) were compared in terms of demographics, issues, and investigatory outcomes.ResultsHL and VL groups show Demographic differences to one another and to population statistics of sensory impairment in the areas of Gender and Race/Ethnicity. Regarding Issues, HL and VL groups are different from one another with respect to several prevalent matters (i.e., Discharge, Reasonable Accommodation) and small-scale matters (i.e., Hiring and Terms/Conditions). With respect to the Merit of allegations following EEOC investigation, HL and VL are very similar.ConclusionWorkplace discrimination is experienced differently for Charging Parties who experience HL vs. VL. Moreover, important differences exist Charging Parties from both sensory impairments vs. those from a General Disability Population.

scholarly journals Review of vision screening referrals in children

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Alma Kurent ◽  
Dragica Kosec
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Visual Outcome ◽  
Final Visit ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Uncorrected Visual Acuity

Background: Childhood vision screening is aimed at the detection of reduced vision due to amblyopia, thus enabling early diagnosis and timely intervention. The purpose of the study was to review the demographics and visual parameters of children referred to the ophthalmologist at Community Health Centre Ljubljana from Slovenian community-based vision screening program and define the visual outcome after treatment in children with amblyopia. Methods: Retrospective medical records review of children referred from community-based vision screening program for further assessment. Medical records were reviewed to determine findings from ophthalmic assessments, treatment received, and visual acuity at the final visit. The main outcome measures were the cause of visual impairment and the visual acuity at the final follow-up visit. Results: From 439 children (mean age 7.3 +/- 3.7 years) referred from community-based vision screening program, 75 children (17%; mean age 5.3 +/- 2.6 years) had amblyopia and received treatment. They had amblyogenic refractive error (3.67 +/- 2.44 diopters of sphere and 1.86 +/- 1.23 diopters of astigmatism) with uncorrected visual acuity on average 0.32 +/- 0.28 logMAR in the worse eye. Visual outcomes after treatment were good with a visual acuity of 0.04 +/- 0.07 logMAR in the worse eye, 60% of them had a visual acuity of 0.00 logMAR (40/40). Conclusion: Children with amblyopia in the presented clinical sample were mostly diagnosed and treated before the school-age. These children showed significant improvement in visual acuity in the amblyopic eye.

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