Suen Jonathan J, Marrone Nicole, Han Hae-Ra, Lin Frank R, Nieman Carrie L
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Semin Hear. 2019 Feb;40(1):37-48. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1676782. Epub 2019 Feb 5.
Epidemiologic studies reveal disparities in hearing health care with lower prevalence of hearing aid use among older adults from racial/ethnic minority groups and lower socioeconomic positions. Recent national reports recommend exploring innovative delivery models to increase the accessibility and affordability of hearing health care, particularly for underserved and vulnerable populations. With an expected rise in the prevalence of age-related hearing loss over the next four decades due to a rapidly aging population, the condition is a growing public health imperative. This review describes key public health practices for developing and delivering community-based care that characterizes an emerging area of research in novel approaches of hearing loss management programs to reach underserved populations. With evolving technologies that enable care to extend beyond the clinic, adapting a long-utilized community health worker approach presents a strategy for the field of hearing health care to be actively involved in designing and leading initiatives for achieving hearing health equity. Principles from community-based participatory research offer a paradigm for the field to integrate into its research endeavors for addressing disparities. An interdisciplinary approach for engaging these challenges offers hearing health care researchers and providers an opportunity to advance the field and delivery of care.
流行病学研究显示，在听力保健方面存在差异，来自种族/族裔少数群体且社会经济地位较低的老年人使用助听器的比例较低。最近的国家报告建议探索创新的服务模式，以提高听力保健的可及性和可承受性，特别是为服务不足和弱势群体。由于人口迅速老龄化，预计在未来四十年中，与年龄相关的听力损失患病率将上升，这种情况对公共卫生的重要性日益凸显。本综述描述了开展和提供基于社区的护理的关键公共卫生实践，这是听力损失管理计划新方法中一个新兴的研究领域，旨在惠及服务不足的人群。随着技术的不断发展，护理能够延伸到诊所之外，采用长期使用的社区卫生工作者方法为听力保健领域提供了一种策略，使其能够积极参与设计和引领实现听力健康公平的倡议。基于社区的参与性研究的原则为该领域提供了一个范式，可将其纳入研究工作以解决差异问题。应对这些挑战的跨学科方法为听力保健研究人员和提供者提供了一个推动该领域及护理服务发展的机会。
