Health and Social Care/Allied Health Sciences, London South Bank University, London SE11 0AA, UK.
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 15;17(10):3470. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103470.
There are 466 million people globally with disabling hearing loss, many of whom can benefit from hearing aids. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of providing hearing aids on poverty, mental health, quality of life, and activities, among adults in Guatemala. A nonrandomised before and after study was conducted, with a comparison group to assess for secular trends. Adult cases with bilateral hearing impairment were identified within 150 km of Guatemala City, as well as age- and sex-matched comparison subjects without disabling hearing loss. All participants were interviewed with a semistructured questionnaire, and cases were offered hearing aids. Participants were reinterviewed 6-9 months later. We interviewed 135 cases and 89 comparison subjects at baseline and follow-up. At baseline, cases were poorer than comparison subjects with respect to individual income ( = 0.01), household income ( = 0.02), and per capita expenditure (PCE) ( = 0.003). After provision of hearing aids, median household income improved among cases ( = 0.03). In the comparison group, median individual income ( = 0.01) and PCE ( = 0.03) fell between baseline at follow-up. At follow-up, there were also improvements in productive time use, quality of life, and depressive symptoms among cases, but these were less apparent in the comparison group. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated a positive effect of hearing aids in improving quality of life, economic circumstances and mental health among Guatemalan adults.
全球有 4.66 亿人患有致残性听力损失，其中许多人可以从助听器中受益。本研究旨在评估在危地马拉为成年人提供助听器对贫困、心理健康、生活质量和活动的影响。采用非随机前后对照研究设计，并设立了对照组以评估长期趋势。在危地马拉城 150 公里范围内，确定了患有双侧听力障碍的成年病例，以及年龄和性别相匹配的无致残性听力损失的对照组。所有参与者都接受了半结构化问卷调查，为病例提供了助听器。6-9 个月后对参与者进行了重新访谈。我们在基线和随访时采访了 135 例病例和 89 名对照组。基线时，病例的个人收入（ = 0.01）、家庭收入（ = 0.02）和人均支出（PCE）（ = 0.003）均低于对照组。在提供助听器后，病例的家庭收入中位数有所提高（ = 0.03）。在对照组中，中位数个人收入（ = 0.01）和 PCE（ = 0.03）在基线和随访之间有所下降。在随访时，病例的生产时间利用率、生活质量和抑郁症状也有所改善，但在对照组中这些改善不太明显。总之，本研究表明，助听器可显著改善危地马拉成年人的生活质量、经济状况和心理健康。
