ArticleJournal of evaluation in clinical practice2026
Patient Perceptions of Delays in Audiology Services in Johannesburg: A Secondary Analysis of Waiting Times and Alternative Service Models.
Article in Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDelays in accessing audiology services are a persistent challenge in South Africa's public healthcare sector, leading to late diagnosis, reduced hearing aid uptake and poor rehabilitation outcomes. Beyond individual access barriers, such delays reflect systemic misalignment between service demand, workforce capacity, procurement systems and service delivery models.
objectiveThis study explored patient perspectives on waiting times and possible service innovations, using a secondary qualitative analysis of interview transcripts.
methodsFifteen de-identified interviews with adult hearing aid users from Johannesburg's public sector were re-analysed thematically to identify experiences of service delays, systemic barriers and views on alternative delivery models.
resultsParticipants reported prolonged delays-ranging from several months to over a year-for assessments, hearing aid fittings and follow-up care. Reported systemic barriers included audiologist shortages, inefficient scheduling and delays in hearing aid procurement. Financial constraints and transport difficulties further hindered access, particularly for unemployed participants. Mobile audiology units and tele-audiology were suggested by many participants as potential strategies to improve accessibility, indicating patient support for decentralised and digitally enabled service delivery models, although not all respondents were supportive of remote options.
conclusionsFindings highlight key planning-relevant leverage points for improving audiology service delivery in resource-constrained urban health systems. Larger-scale, multi-site studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of mobile and digital service models before broad policy adoption.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.