Dialechti Tsimpida, Roberta Piroddi, Konstantinos Daras, Gabriella Melis
{"title":"Assessing hearing health inequalities using routine health information systems.","authors":"Dialechti Tsimpida, Roberta Piroddi, Konstantinos Daras, Gabriella Melis","doi":"10.1057/s41271-025-00584-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hearing loss is a significant public health challenge, with prevalence estimates based on projected age demographics rather than actual public health needs. This study aimed to quantify hearing loss using real-world data from primary care and explore local patterns and trends from 2013 to 2022 in Cheshire and Merseyside counties of Northwest England. Annual hearing loss prevalence was measured using an ecological space-time analysis of 2.7 million primary care records from Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. We applied cluster and outlier analysis with geographically weighted regression to examine local deprivation effects. We detected spatial clusters of high prevalence of hearing loss in Cheshire and an increasing trend in hearing loss prevalence in Halton. Deprivation accounted for up to 35% of hearing loss variance in 2020. Monitoring spatial patterns of hearing loss is crucial for addressing health inequalities and guiding targeted prevention and intervention strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":50070,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Health Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Public Health Policy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-025-00584-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Hearing loss is a significant public health challenge, with prevalence estimates based on projected age demographics rather than actual public health needs. This study aimed to quantify hearing loss using real-world data from primary care and explore local patterns and trends from 2013 to 2022 in Cheshire and Merseyside counties of Northwest England. Annual hearing loss prevalence was measured using an ecological space-time analysis of 2.7 million primary care records from Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. We applied cluster and outlier analysis with geographically weighted regression to examine local deprivation effects. We detected spatial clusters of high prevalence of hearing loss in Cheshire and an increasing trend in hearing loss prevalence in Halton. Deprivation accounted for up to 35% of hearing loss variance in 2020. Monitoring spatial patterns of hearing loss is crucial for addressing health inequalities and guiding targeted prevention and intervention strategies.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Public Health Policy (JPHP) will continue its 35 year tradition: an accessible source of scholarly articles on the epidemiologic and social foundations of public health policy, rigorously edited, and progressive.
JPHP aims to create a more inclusive public health policy dialogue, within nations and among them. It broadens public health policy debates beyond the ''health system'' to examine all forces and environments that impinge on the health of populations. It provides an exciting platform for airing controversy and framing policy debates - honing policies to solve new problems and unresolved old ones.
JPHP welcomes unsolicited original scientific and policy contributions on all public health topics. New authors are particularly encouraged to enter debates about how to improve the health of populations and reduce health disparities.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
