Aggarwal Komal, Gunjawate Dhanshree R, Yerraguntla Krishna, Ravi Rohit
Department of Speech and Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professionals, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2022 Jan-Feb;13:100939. doi: 10.1016/j.cegh.2021.100939. Epub 2021 Dec 31.
COVID-19 has significantly impacted the professional practice of health care professionals including audiological practice. Audiologists had to adopt to changes and modify their practice to deal with the pandemic. Reasonable published work has been seen since the onset of the pandemic, depicting impact on the audiology practice across the globe in different practice settings and contexts. The present scoping review was carried out to explore the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice and the challenges faced.
MATERIAL & METHODS: A literature search was carried out to identify the studies exploring the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice. Three electronic databases namely Scopus, PubMed/Medline, and Cochrane Library were searched using keywords. After title and abstract screening, suitable studies were identified.
Of the total 172, nine studies focusing on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice COVID-19, published between January 2020 to June 2021 were included. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions, caused changes in routine clinical practices in audiology. These changes were with respect to stringent infection control measures, mode of service delivery, changes in routines with reduced services or prioritizing services. Challenges included issues with remote services, experience, and support.
The present review reveals the changes in audiology practice during COVID -19 and challenges encountered by audiologists. These findings would help in better planning of audiology practice in the post pandemic world.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）对包括听力学实践在内的医疗保健专业人员的专业实践产生了重大影响。听力学家不得不适应变化并调整其实践以应对疫情。自疫情爆发以来，已经出现了一些合理的已发表作品，描述了在全球不同实践环境和背景下对听力学实践的影响。本范围综述旨在探讨COVID-19疫情对听力学实践的影响以及所面临的挑战。
进行文献检索以确定探索COVID-19疫情对听力学实践影响的研究。使用关键词搜索了三个电子数据库，即Scopus、PubMed/Medline和Cochrane图书馆。经过标题和摘要筛选，确定了合适的研究。
在总共172项研究中，纳入了9项关注2020年1月至2021年6月期间发表的COVID-19疫情对听力学实践影响的研究。总体而言，COVID-19疫情及随后的限制导致了听力学常规临床实践的变化。这些变化涉及严格的感染控制措施、服务提供方式、服务减少或优先排序导致的常规变化。挑战包括远程服务、经验和支持方面的问题。
本综述揭示了COVID-19期间听力学实践的变化以及听力学家遇到的挑战。这些发现将有助于在后疫情时代更好地规划听力学实践。
