ArticleBMJ global health2019
The role of community health workers in addressing the global burden of ear disease and hearing loss: a systematic scoping review of the literature.
Article in BMJ global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Integration of ear and hearing care services in low- and middle-income health systems: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis.Global health action · 2026Pooled it
- Feasibility, efficacy and effectiveness of community health worker-facilitated hearing aid provision: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Costs and cost-effectiveness of integrated horizontal community health worker programmes in low- and middle-income countries (2015-2024): a scoping literature review.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Global Barriers to Otolaryngology Care.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2025Article
- Hearing loss characteristics and cerumen management efficacy in low-income South African communities: a cross-sectional study.Primary health care research & development · 2025Article
- Access to Ear and Hearing Care Globally: A Survey of Stakeholder Perceptions from the Lancet Commission on Global Hearing Loss.Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology · 2025Article
- Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Training and Service Delivery: An International Survey.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2025Article
- Article
- Evaluating the Reliability of 'AudiClick': A Click-Based Mobile App for Hearing Loss.Iranian journal of otorhinolaryngology · 2024Article
- Towards universal access: A review of global efforts in ear and hearing care.Hearing research · 2024Review
- Disparities in access to ear and hearing care in Cambodia: a mixed methods study on patient experiences.The Journal of laryngology and otology · 2023Article
- Combined hearing and vision screening programs: A scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Community health workers and mHealth systems for hearing screening in rural Nicaraguan schoolchildren.Journal of global health · 2022Review
- A longitudinal community-based ototoxicity monitoring programme and treatment effects for drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment, Western Cape.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2022Article
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Virus (COVID-19) Preventative Measures on Communication: A Scoping Review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- An open-access and inexpensive 3D printed otoscope for low-resource settings and health crises.3D printing in medicine · 2021Article
- Community-Based Ototoxicity Monitoring for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in South Africa: An Evaluation Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Feasibility of community health workers as teleaudiology patient-site facilitators: a multilevel training study.International journal of audiology · 2021Article
- Evidence gaps in economic analyses of hearing healthcare: A systematic review.EClinicalMedicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionCommunity health workers (CHWs) have the potential to improve access to ear and hearing services for people across low-income or middle-income countries, remote, underserved, or resource-poor areas of the world. We performed a systematic scoping review to identify evidence on how CHWs are currently deployed in the prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of ear disease and hearing loss; methods to train and support CHWs in this context; and cost-effectiveness of CHWs.
methodsWe performed a systematic search of the literature from September 1978 to 18 March 2018 from 11 major databases and the grey literature.
resultsWe identified 38 original studies that met the inclusion criteria, taking place across South Asia (n=13), Oceania (n=7), North America (n=7), South America (n=6) and Africa (n=5). 23 studies showed CHWs can increase community participation in screening. They can conduct screening using whispered voice tests, noisemakers for neonatal screening, automated audiological tests and otoscopy. Eight studies focused specifically on the evaluation of programmes to train CHWs, and three provided a general programme description. Three studies documented a role of CHWs in the treatment of ear disease or hearing loss, such as performing ear washouts, instillation of topical antibiotics or fitting of hearing aids. Only one study provided an indepth cost-utility analysis regarding the use of CHWs to conduct hearing screening, and no studies commented on the role of CHWs in the prevention of hearing loss.
conclusionCHWs have been employed in diverse ways to address the global burden of ear disease and hearing loss. Future research needs to explore the role of CHWs in preventative strategies, identify optimum methods to train and support CHWs, and explore their cost-effectiveness.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.