Be Part of History in the Making

Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, 2018

INTRODUCTION As the global leader in the field of public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) addresses health issues that are prioritized by its Member States a. These include a diverse variety of areas addressing infections such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); reducing mortality and morbidity due to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer; promoting road safety, violence prevention; and many more areas. 1 The issues that are included in WHO's program of work are typically those that have been highlighted as public health issues Disclosure: The authors have nothing to disclose.

Indian Journal of Otology, 2012

International Journal of Audiology, 2020

Objectives: This article aims to estimate the global and regional needs, unmet needs and access to hearing aids, as well as the morbidity that can be averted by their use. Design: The study was based on Global Burden of Disease data. Study sample: Hearing impaired individuals "in need" of a hearing aid were defined as those in the moderate, moderately severe, and severe categories. Results: Globally, 401.4 million people are 'in need' of hearing aids. The large majority (83%) of them do not use hearing aids, with higher levels being in some regions such as the African region (90%). Accounting for hearing aid coverage reduced morbidity by 14.6% (95% UI 13.1-16)from 25 million YLDs to 21.3 million YLDs. It was estimated that if every single prevalent case in need would use a hearing aid, the burden of disease in this population would be reduced from the untreated 25 million YLDs to 10.3 million YLDsa reduction of 59%. Conclusions: Development of innovative low-cost technologies with effective service delivery models, policy and regulatory changes to improve access, and combatting the stigma and lack of awareness are some of the potential solutions to improve access to hearing aids.

Seminars in Hearing, 2023

The hearing healthcare industry is evolving rapidly. A framework addressing provision options in contemporary hearing care could assist clinician and client navigate their options to find the most appropriate solution for each individual. A PRISMA approach was used followed by mapping, validation, and thematic analysis to produce a framework to better describe and discuss service and product delivery options in contemporary hearing care. No frameworks were identified to advise matching needs with current provision options in audiological care. Charting, mapping, and thematic analysis of the validation criteria and hearing care literature produced three core domains: Service, Channel, and Technology/Device. The framework developed in this review allows for an understanding of where innovation is occurring in hearing healthcare and differentiates between changes to technology, channel, and service. New questions open up such as whether one model is more effective than another or which model of hearing help is best for which type of person. This framework allows for the disambiguation of hearing health services, hearing loss technology, and the channel in which services and technology are delivered. It has potential to be a versatile and valuable addition to the industry of hearing healthcare.

International Journal of Audiology, 2017

The growing need for hearing care and a general lack of policies to address it poses a significant public health challenge. The World Health Organization aims to address this through evidence-based advocacy along with technical support to countries in provision of hearing care. As part of its activities, WHO is promoting the World Hearing Day which is observed on 3rd March every year. The day is marked by an annual theme and release of information products and key messages. Through this, we aim to raise awareness and promote actions for ear and hearing care across the world. A large number of individuals, organisations and governments have joined this effort in order to advocate for prioritisation of hearing care. The theme for 2017 will focus on economic aspects of hearing loss and the cost effectiveness of interventions to reduce its prevalence and impact. WHO invites all stakeholders in the field of ear and hearing care to undertake activities to mark this day and join this global initiative.

Disability & Society, 2016

The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology

Background Hearing loss is one of the most common health problems affecting people in the developing countries so our aim of the “Save The Hearing Project” was to combat deafness by training local doctors for ear surgery in order to treat their local patients with low cost as possible. The project was done as ear surgery campaigns in peripheral areas in Egypt, Yemen, and other countries, to train young ENT specialists and to treat patients there. Our plan was put according to the frequency of different causes of deafness as shown by previous surveys. We used the previous local and evidence-based researches to make our protocols of management of different diseases. These protocols were further evaluated during our work. The project has five stages. The first stage included management of sudden sensory neural hearing loss (SSNHL), otitis media with effusion (OME), and local anesthesia for the ear surgery—cartilage tympanoplasty and ossiculoplasty. The second stage included mastoidecto...

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, 2018

BackgroundAt the heart of surgical care needs to be the education and training of staff, particularly in the low-income and/or resource-poor setting. This is the primary means by which self-sufficiency and sustainability will ultimately be achieved. As such, training and education should be integrated into any surgical programme that is undertaken. Numerous resources are available to help provide such a goal, and an open approach to novel, inexpensive training methods is likely to be helpful in this type of setting.The need for appropriately trained audiologists in low-income countries is well recognised and clearly goes beyond providing support for ear surgery. However, where ear surgery is being undertaken, it is vital to have audiology services established in order to correctly assess patients requiring surgery, and to be able to assess and manage outcomes of surgery. The training requirements of the two specialties are therefore intimately linked.ObjectiveThis article highlights...

Bulletin of the World Health Organization

International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, 2020

The Sustainable Development Goals focus on promoting the wellbeing and health of everyone, including persons with hearing impairments, estimated at 466 million globally. Service provision is needed for these goals to be realized. This paper presents a situational analysis of ear and hearing care services in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, to contribute to the development of improved services. The paper provides a baseline overview of what is known about ear and hearing care, including a context analysis, suggestions on realistic targets for change, and recommendations for further work, policy development, and research. The World Health Organization Ear and Hearing Care Situational Analysis Tool for data collection and analysis was used to collect data from a cross section of respondents including providers and beneficiaries of services. Results indicate that there is a severe shortage of ear and hearing services, limited accessibility to medical products and health technologies, no training avenues locally available and no clear strategy to identify and address components and gaps. The study recommends an urgent need for the design of a 5-year strategic plan to address the gaps which should include strong representation from the deaf and hearing-impaired communities. This plan should ensure that every hospital and health center has a clear process for assessing clients of all ages for hearing impairments and that processes facilitating the acquisition of hearing care technologies are established. More broadly Information on hearing care needs to be shared in the mainstream and the deaf communities.