Swanepoel De Wet
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Ear Sciences Centre, School of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.
Semin Hear. 2020 May;41(2):133-140. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1708510. Epub 2020 Apr 7.
Hearing loss is a pervasive global health care burden affecting up to one in every seven persons of whom 90% reside in low- and middle-income countries. Traditional service-delivery models are unable to support and promote accessible and affordable hearing care in these setting. Major barriers include a severe shortage of hearing health care professionals, costs associated with equipment, facilities and treatments, and centralized service-delivery models. Convergence of digital and connectivity revolutions are combining to enable new ways of delivering decentralized audiological services along the entire patient journey using integrated eHealth solutions. eHealth technologies are allowing nonprofessionals in communities (e.g., community health workers) to provide hearing services with point-of-care devices at reduced cost with remote surveillance and support by professionals. A growing body of recent evidence showcases community-based hearing care within an integrated eHealth framework that addresses some of the barriers of traditional service-delivery models at reduced cost. Future research, especially in low- and middle-income countries, must explore eHealth-supported hearing care services from detection through to treatment.
听力损失是一项普遍存在的全球医疗负担，影响着每七人中的一人，其中90%居住在低收入和中等收入国家。传统的服务提供模式无法在这些环境中支持和促进可及且负担得起的听力保健。主要障碍包括听力保健专业人员严重短缺、与设备、设施和治疗相关的成本，以及集中式服务提供模式。数字革命和连接革命的融合正在结合起来，通过综合电子健康解决方案，在患者的整个就医过程中实现提供分散式听力服务的新方式。电子健康技术使社区中的非专业人员（如社区卫生工作者）能够使用即时护理设备以降低成本提供听力服务，并由专业人员进行远程监测和支持。最近越来越多的证据表明，在综合电子健康框架内开展基于社区的听力保健，能够以降低成本的方式解决传统服务提供模式的一些障碍。未来的研究，尤其是在低收入和中等收入国家，必须探索从检测到治疗的电子健康支持的听力保健服务。
