Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40910867›Full record

ArticleGlobal health action2025

Community-based hearing aid fitting model for adults in low-income communities facilitated by community health workers: a feasibility study.

Bopane Mothemela, Caitlin Frisby, Faheema Mahomed Asmail, Tersia de Kock, David R Moore, Vinaya Manchaiah, Wet Swanepoel

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Article in Global health action, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Bopane MothemelaDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-2937-6549
Caitlin FrisbyDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Faheema Mahomed AsmailDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Tersia de KockDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
David R MooreDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Vinaya ManchaiahDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-1254-8407
Wet SwanepoelDepartment of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-8313-1636

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHearing loss affects more than 1.5 billion people worldwide, yet fewer than 10% of those who could benefit from hearing aids are able to access them. Barriers such as high costs, limited availability, and a critical shortage of trained professionals in low- and middle-income countries contribute to this gap, while emerging models of care-such as task-shifting to community healthcare workers (CHWs) supported by mHealth technologies-show promise in improving access, affordability, and outcomes in underserved communities.

objectiveTo determine the feasibility and outcomes of a community-based hearing aid fitting model designed for low-income communities facilitated by community health workers (CHWs).

methodUsing Bowen's framework, feasibility was evaluated according to service delivery and patient outcomes. A total of 25 (six male) participants were fitted with bilateral GoPrime preset, over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids by CHWs in Khayelitsha, a low-income community in Cape Town, South Africa. Benefit and satisfaction were measured using the International Outcome Inventory forHearing Aids (IOI-HA). An open-ended survey used to obtain their perceptions on the impact of the hearing aids on communication, the mHealth program, and willingness to purchase the hearing aids was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

resultsPure Tone Average across participants was 57.3 dB HL (11.5 SD) in the left ear and 54 dB HL (14.2 SD) int he right ear. The majority of participants self-reported positive outcomes while using hearing aids, including good hearing in background noise. IOI-HA showed above standardized average scores of 3.91 for daily use, 4.46 for benefit, and 4.58 for satisfaction. 92% of the participants reported the hearing aids as extremely helpful, with 87.5% recommending hearing aids for others with hearing loss. Additionally, participants reported positive experiences with them Health support program and described the program as clear and helpful.

conclusionThe community-based hearing aid fitting model is feasible and demonstrated positive hearing aid outcomes in a low-income community. This approach, supported bymHealth technologies and CHWs, presents a promising solution to address the hearing care gap in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Indexed as

Community Health WorkersHearing AidsHearing LossPovertyAdultFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPatient SatisfactionSouth Africacommunity health workershearing aidsHearing lossLow- and middle-income countriesmhealth

Identifiers

PMID40910867
PMCPMC12415997

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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.