Costs of screening children for hearing disorders and delivery of hearing aids in China

Abstract

Background: The burden of disease of hearing disorders among children is high, but a large part goes undetected. School-based screening programs in combination with the delivery of hearing aids can alleviate this situation, but the costs of such programs are unknown.

Association between mode of delivery and failure of neonatal acoustic emission test: A retrospective analysis

“…Nevertheless, there is a shortage in skilled personnel, especially in rural areas [16]. Recent cost-effectiveness studies in India and China have shown that children with hearing impairment will benefit from aid at school [17,18]. A screening recently implemented in India using low-cost screening tools might show promising results for hearing screening in newborns [3].…”

The global burden of disabling hearing impairment: a call to action

“…[34][35][36][37] According to WHO, the target price for an "affordable" hearing aid should be no more than 3% of the per capita of the user's country. 34 When this definition was proposed, 3% of the per capita gross national product of Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria was 26, 46, 26, 10 and 43 United States dollars (US$), respectively.…”

Costs and health effects of screening and delivery of hearing aids in Tamil Nadu, India: an observational study

“…Baltussen et al [ 16 ] recently reported on costs of three school-based screening programs in combination with the provision of hearing aids at respectively primary, secondary and tertiary care level in China. The study concluded that, in combination with screening, the provision of hearing aids is least costly at primary care level (US$227 per child fitted), followed by secondary care level (US$277) and tertiary care level (US$365).…”

“…Based on the present study and the study in China [ 16 ], a number of research recommendations can be made. Firstly, better information is required on the compliance of people with hearing aids, and on the lifetime of hearing aids in countries as India and China.…”