Department of Communicative Disorders, Speech and Hearing Center, The University of Alabama, Box 870242, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
Department of Information Systems, Statistics and Management Science, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
J Community Health. 2021 Aug;46(4):719-727. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00943-4. Epub 2020 Oct 30.
Hearing loss is a growing public health concern and has been associated with poor cardiovascular health, diabetes, increased social isolation and poor cognitive functioning. Addressing this issue, especially in rural communities, will require increased awareness of hearing loss and its link to emotional and physical well-being. The purpose of this study was to understand the challenges that those with hearing loss living in rural and urban communities experience and to examine the feasibility of using primary care physicians to assist with improving access to hearing healthcare in rural communities. One hundred thirty-four participants were recruited from rural and urban counties in West Central and South Alabama. All participants completed a hearing evaluation and a Healthcare and Hearing Healthcare Accessibility Questionnaire. Over half of the adults in the study with hearing loss did not have access to hearing healthcare because of distance to a hearing healthcare professional. Other reasons for participants not having access to hearing healthcare included financial constraints, lack of awareness of having a hearing loss, lack of time to see a hearing healthcare provider, and not knowing how to access a provider. Results, however, revealed that most adults in the study had access to a primary care professional. The primary care provider, therefore, could be a valuable resource for the dissemination of information related to hearing healthcare. Collaborative work with primary care providers will help to develop and expand hearing healthcare awareness, research and services provided through the Here Hear Alabama project, a rural outreach initiative in West Central and South Alabama.
听力损失是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题，与心血管健康不良、糖尿病、社会隔离增加和认知功能下降有关。解决这一问题，尤其是在农村社区，需要提高对听力损失及其与情感和身体健康关系的认识。本研究旨在了解生活在农村和城市社区的听力损失者所面临的挑战，并探讨利用初级保健医生来帮助改善农村社区获得听力保健服务的可行性。从阿拉巴马州中西部和南部的农村和城市县招募了 134 名参与者。所有参与者都完成了听力评估和医疗保健及听力保健可及性问卷。研究中有听力损失的成年人中，超过一半的人因为距离听力保健专业人员太远而无法获得听力保健服务。其他导致参与者无法获得听力保健服务的原因包括经济拮据、缺乏听力损失意识、没有时间去看听力保健提供者，以及不知道如何获得提供者。然而，结果显示，研究中的大多数成年人都可以接触到初级保健专业人员。因此，初级保健提供者可以成为传播与听力保健相关信息的宝贵资源。与初级保健提供者合作，将有助于通过 Here Hear Alabama 项目（阿拉巴马州中西部和南部的农村外展倡议）开展听力保健意识、研究和服务的开发和扩展。
