16 research outputs found

    A pilot

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    OBJECTIVE: The main aim was to establish if epidural anesthesia had an influence on new-born hearing screening results in newborns born via elective Cesarean section in healthy pregnancies. Specific objectives included determining screening results in a group of newborns born to mothers who had undergone epidural anesthesia during Cesarean section childbirth (experimental group); and comparing the findings with those of a group of newborns born to mothers who had undergone natural delivery without epidural anesthesia (comparison group); while establishing if the time of screening following delivery had any effect on the overall screening result

    Paediatric meningitis and hearing loss in a developing country: exploring the current protocols regarding audiological management following miningitis

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    The purpose of this study was to establish audiology referral protocols for post meningitis paediatric populations in two academic hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa. Specific objectives of this study included determining if audiological assessment referrals were made following infection; determining the time of referral post meningitis diagnosis; establishing what audiological assessments were conducted on this population, as well as determining any correlations between signs and symptoms of meningitis and referrals for audiology assessments. Medical records of 47 children admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of meningitis between the ages of birth and 6 years were reviewed following a retrospective record review design. Data relevant to the current study were obtained from hospital records and this was captured in a data spreadsheet. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were implemented in analysis of the data. Inferential statistics in the form of logistic regression analysis was used to establish any significant factor that may predict referral for audiological assessment. The findings indicated that almost half (40%) of the cases were not referred for audiological services. Of those cases referred for assessment, 89% were referred as in-patients before hospital discharge, with minimal referrals occurring after discharge from hospital. Screening, rather than diagnostic audiology measures were conducted on a majority of the cases. Logistic regression analysis identified fever as the only predictor variable (

    Sustainable workforce: South African audiologists and speech therapists

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    Background Audiologists and Speech Therapists play a vital role in addressing sustainable development goals by supporting people who are marginalised due to communication challenges. The global burden of disease and poor social living conditions impact negatively on the development of healthy communication, therefore requiring the services of Audiologist and Speech therapists. Against this background, we examined the demographic profile and the supply, need and shortfall of Audiologists and Speech Therapists in South Africa. Methods The data set was drawn from the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) registers (for 2002–2017) for the speech, language and hearing professions. This demographic profile of the professions was created based on the category of health personnel; category of practice, geographical location, population group (race) and sex. The annual supply was estimated from the HPCSA database while the service–target approach was used to estimate need. Additional need based on National Health Insurance Bill was also included. Supply–need gaps were forecast according to three scenarios, which varied according to the future intensity of policy intervention to increase occupancy of training places: ‘best guess’ (no intervention), ‘optimistic’ (feasible intervention), and ‘aspirational’ (significant intervention) scenarios up to 2030. Results Most (i.e. 1548, 47.4%) of the professionals are registered as Audiologists and Speech Therapists, followed by 33.5% registered as Speech Therapists and 19.1% registered as Audiologists. Around 88.5% professionals registered as Audiologists and Speech Therapists are practising independently, and 42.6% are practising in the Gauteng province. The profession is comprised majorly of women (94.6%), and in terms of the population groups (race), they are mainly classified as white (59.7%). In 2017, in best guess scenario, there is a supply–need gap of around 2800 professionals. In the absence of any intervention to increase supply capacity, this shortfall will remain same by the year 2030. By contrast, in aspirational scenario, i.e. supply is increased by 300%, the forecasted shortfall for 2030 reduces to 2300 from 2800 professionals. Conclusions It is clear that without significant interventions, South Africa is likely to have a critical shortfall of Audiologists and Speech Therapists in 2030. Policy-makers will have to carefully examine issues surrounding the current framework regulating training of these and associated professionals, in order to respond adequately to future requirements
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