Department of ENT Surgery, Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda.
Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Jun;145:110722. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2021.110722. Epub 2021 Apr 18.
Infant hearing screening enables early detection and management of hearing loss (HL) so that speech and language development delays are minimized. Parents play a critical role in successful screening and management of Infant Hearing loss (IHL) but there is limited data from resource limited settings on parental knowledge about HL and acceptability of IHL interventions. This study was aimed at exploring the maternal knowledge on the various causes of IHL and their acceptability of hearing aids as an intervention for IHL.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at a referral hospital in southwestern Uganda. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview postpartum mothers to assess their knowledge on causes of IHL and acceptability of a hearing aid if prescribed. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio (OR) for the factors associated with hearing aid refusal.
401 mothers with a mean age of 25 years (Standard Deviation = 5.6 years) were recruited. Half of the mothers correctly identified at least five causes of IHL. The most well-known causes were measles (63.3%) and a positive family history of HL (61.6%). 60% of mothers held at least one superstitious belief as a cause of IHL. Majority of mothers (86%) would accept a hearing aid as an IHL intervention. Mothers with a positive family history of HL (OR = 0.42, p = 0.04), in middle or higher socioeconomic class (OR = 0.45, p = 0.01) and those with more than 3 antenatal visits in their recent pregnancy (OR = 0.44, p = 0.01) were less likely to refuse a hearing aid while mothers that were either widowed or separated from their spouses (OR = 15.64, p = 0.01) were more likely to refuse a hearing aid.
Although mothers had limited knowledge on some causes of IHL, there was a high acceptability of hearing aids as an intervention for IHL. Marital status, family history of hearing loss, socioeconomic status and antenatal care attendance are factors that could be used to identify mothers that might accept or refuse a hearing aid for their infant. There is need to increase awareness about causes of hearing loss to improve knowledge as well as dispel any non-biological beliefs held by communities.
婴儿听力筛查可实现听力损失（HL）的早期发现和管理，从而最大程度地减少言语和语言发育迟缓。父母在婴儿听力损失（IHL）的成功筛查和管理中起着至关重要的作用，但在资源有限的环境中，有关父母对 HL 的了解以及对 IHL 干预措施的可接受性的数据有限。本研究旨在探讨产妇对 IHL 各种病因的知识以及对助听器作为 IHL 干预措施的可接受性。
这是在乌干达西南部的一家转诊医院进行的一项横断面研究。使用半结构式问卷对产后母亲进行访谈，以评估她们对 IHL 病因的了解程度，以及对助听器的可接受程度。使用逻辑回归计算与助听器拒绝相关的因素的优势比（OR）。
共招募了 401 名平均年龄为 25 岁（标准差=5.6 岁）的母亲。有一半的母亲正确识别了至少五种 IHL 病因。最知名的病因是麻疹（63.3%）和 HL 的阳性家族史（61.6%）。60%的母亲持有至少一种迷信病因。大多数母亲（86%）会接受助听器作为 IHL 干预措施。HL 的阳性家族史（OR=0.42，p=0.04）、中高社会经济阶层（OR=0.45，p=0.01）和近期妊娠中有 3 次以上产前检查的母亲（OR=0.44，p=0.01）不太可能拒绝助听器，而丧偶或与配偶分居的母亲（OR=15.64，p=0.01）更有可能拒绝助听器。
尽管母亲对一些 IHL 病因的了解有限，但对助听器作为 IHL 干预措施的接受程度很高。婚姻状况、听力损失的家族史、社会经济地位和产前保健就诊是可以用来识别可能接受或拒绝为婴儿使用助听器的母亲的因素。需要提高对听力损失原因的认识，以提高知识水平，并消除社区中持有的任何非生物学信念。
