UCL Ear Institute, University College London, London, UK.
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi.
Int J Audiol. 2021 Oct;60(10):789-796. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2020.1864486. Epub 2021 Jan 12.
To describe the profile of patients attending the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) audiology clinic in Malawi, over a two-year period (2016-2017).
A retrospective patient record review.
There were 2299 patients assessed at the QECH audiology department between January 2016 and December 2017. Adult patients' ages ranged from 18 to 94 years ( = 45.8, SD = 19.22). The mean age of children included in this study was 7.7 years (SD= 5.21). Overall, 45.4% of patients were female.
Of the 61.6% of adults and 41.7% of children found to have some degree of hearing loss, 28.3% and 15.4% were fitted with hearing aids, respectively. The number of patients seen in 2017 (n = 1385) was 34% higher than that of 2016 (n = 914).
This study found that demand for hearing services is increasing in this public sector Malawian audiology department but uptake of hearing aids for those in need is low. Future evaluation of service provision and treatment outcomes is needed. Results from this study can be used to inform the development of future audiology clinics in low resource settings.
描述在马拉维伊丽莎白女王中央医院（QECH）听力科就诊的患者概况，时间跨度为两年（2016-2017 年）。
回顾性病历审查。
2016 年 1 月至 2017 年 12 月期间，QECH 听力科共评估了 2299 名患者。成年患者年龄在 18 至 94 岁之间（均值=45.8，标准差=19.22）。本研究纳入的儿童平均年龄为 7.7 岁（标准差=5.21）。总体而言，45.4%的患者为女性。
在发现有不同程度听力损失的成年人中占比 61.6%，儿童中占比 41.7%，分别有 28.3%和 15.4%的患者佩戴了助听器。2017 年就诊的患者（n=1385）比 2016 年（n=914）多 34%。
本研究发现，该公立马拉维听力科对听力服务的需求正在增加，但需要助听器的患者的佩戴率却很低。需要对服务提供和治疗结果进行进一步评估。本研究结果可用于为资源匮乏环境中的未来听力科发展提供参考。
