{"title":"Risk factors and hearing outcomes in infants and young children in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa","authors":"Nasim B. Khan, L. Joseph","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1031","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141919579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Barriers to care: Caregivers’ accounts of raising a child with a communication disorder","authors":"Nicole Cooke, Clare Harvey","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1036","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141919107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Barriers to care: Caregivers’ accounts of raising a child with a communication disorder","authors":"Nicole Cooke, Clare Harvey","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1036","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141919749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A swallowing and breastfeeding intervention programme for small and sick neonates embedded in kangaroo mother care","authors":"A. Kritzinger, Elise van Rooyen, Anne-Marie Bergh","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1055","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141921650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Divhanani Sithi, Samantha M Govender, Thembelihle S Ntuli
{"title":"Evaluating the feasibility of a tele-diagnostic auditory brainstem response service in a rural context.","authors":"Divhanani Sithi, Samantha M Govender, Thembelihle S Ntuli","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1020","DOIUrl":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong> There is a noticeable gap in access to audiology services in South Africa, and the gap is intensified in rural areas. Often, primary healthcare (PHC) facilities have an unequal ratio of audiologists to patients in need. Telehealth can expand the range of hearing healthcare services.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong> This study aimed to determine whether, for infants, tele-diagnostic Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) assessment results conducted within a mobile clinic van are comparable to face-to-face diagnostic ABR results in rural Winterveldt, Pretoria North, South Africa.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong> The study utilised a quantitative, prospective cross-sectional comparative within-subject design. Each participant received both face-to-face and mobile tele-diagnostic ABR tests, which were then compared to evaluate the feasibility of mobile tele-diagnostic ABR testing. The Student's t-test was used to determine whether there was a difference between face-to-face and tele-diagnostic tests, and Bland -Altman plots were used to assess the level of agreement between the ABR testing results.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong> There was a strong correlation (p 0.001) between face-to-face and mobile tele-diagnostic ABR test results for both neurological and audiological ABR tests. The study found that there was no statistical significance between face-to-face and tele-diagnostic ABR measures; additionally, the results were within clinically acceptable and normative measures.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong> Tele-diagnostic ABR offered within a mobile clinic van is feasible as it produces similar and clinically acceptable results when compared to the traditional assessment method.Contribution: This feasibility study is a positive indicator that tele-diagnostic ABR testing through a mobile clinic van may be considered to accelerate the delivery of hearing healthcare services to the infant population in rural communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11304190/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141890307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Audiological profile of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.","authors":"Sakhile Nkosi, Vuyelwa Peter, Jessica Paken","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1035","DOIUrl":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong> South Africa shows a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes with reported association with auditory dysfunction.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong> To describe the audiological profile of adults with this metabolic condition.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong> Employing a descriptive research design, 35 individuals with type 2 diabetes, selected through purposive sampling, underwent a basic audiological assessment in addition to extended high-frequency (EHF) audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) testing and neurological auditory brainstem response (ABR) test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong> This study revealed a 31.4% prevalence of hearing loss with 81.8% being sensorineural in nature. Poor hearing thresholds were observed at 16 kHz (n = 19; 54.3%), 18 kHz (n = 24; 68.6%) and 20 kHz (n = 30; 85.7%) in the right ear and at 16 kHz (n = 20; 57.1%), 18 kHz (n = 24; 68.6%) and 20 kHz (n = 30; 85.7%) in the left ear. Absent DPOAEs were observed at 6 kHz (n = 20; 51.7%) and 8 kHz (n = 24; 68.6%) in the right ear and at 6 kHz (n = 17; 48.6%) and 8 kHz (n = 29; 82.9%) in the left ear, possibly indicating that type 2 diabetes specifically targets higher frequency hearing. The ABR results revealed a delayed absolute latency of wave III bilaterally (right ear -69%; left ear - 51%), suggesting an impact of this metabolic disease on retro-cochlear pathways.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong> Hearing loss should be recognised as a comorbidity accompanying type 2 diabetes, which indicates the need for routine comprehensive audiological assessments to facilitate early detection and intervention.Contribution: The present findings have implications for audiology clinical protocols; diabetes related health policies and patient education.</p>","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11304386/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141890306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"IsiZulu-speaking caregivers’ perceptions of child language stimulation","authors":"Desiree C. John, C. Uys, Michelle Pascoe","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1028","url":null,"abstract":"Background: South African children from low-income households are at higher risk of cognitive-linguistic difficulties because of multiple risk factors. Early language stimulation minimises the effects of risk factors and prepares children for literacy and learning. Understanding caregivers’ perceptions of language stimulation is important because perceptions shape practices, which determine child language outcomes.Objectives: This study explored the existing perceptions of language stimulation among 15 isiZulu-speaking caregivers from KwaDabeka township.Method: A qualitative, descriptive research design was adopted and the caregivers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The NVivo software programme supported the inductive, thematic analysis of the data.Results: Although the caregivers held positive perceptions of language stimulation, their perceptions of benefit focussed on meeting children’s basic physiological needs with less reference to the long-term benefits for literacy, employment and social integration. Providing language models, watching television, singing songs, and reading books were perceived to be examples of language-stimulating activities and techniques. The caregivers expressed a need to improve their knowledge of language stimulation and queried how they could be supported to achieve this outcome.Conclusion: This group of caregivers needed support to increase their awareness of the long-term benefits of language stimulation and their knowledge and use of evidence-based activities, stimuli and facilitation techniques.Contribution: Caregivers’ existing perceptions could serve as a barrier to the effective language stimulation of children from low-income households in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141805128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria N. Du Toit, Renata Eccles, Kailin Westwood, Marien A. Graham, J. van der Linde
{"title":"Caregivers’ perspectives of early developmental tele-assessments in challenging circumstances","authors":"Maria N. Du Toit, Renata Eccles, Kailin Westwood, Marien A. Graham, J. van der Linde","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1037","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, exacerbate barriers to accessing early childhood developmental care. Tele-assessment may serve as an innovative approach to developmental monitoring to overcome service delivery amidst challenging circumstances. It is vital to collect caregivers’ perspectives of this potential service delivery method to inform clinical decision making.Objectives: This study aimed to determine caregivers’ perspectives of interview-based early developmental tele-assessment in a South African context.Method: Thirty caregivers of children (aged birth – 36 months) completed a caregiver-report developmental assessment via a telecommunications platform, as well as an online questionnaire probing their perspectives on the tele-assessment.Results: Most participants (96.7%, n = 29 out of 30) rated their overall experience of the tele-assessment as positive; however, 53.8% (n = 14 out of 26 that answered the question) indicated that they would additionally still prefer in-person assessment.Conclusion: Tele-assessment appears to be a viable approach for caregivers to access developmental care during circumstances such as COVID-19.Contribution: This study provided valuable insight into a novel approach using interview-based early developmental tele-assessment and the perspectives of caregivers thereof.","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141812893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experiences of caregivers of children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review","authors":"Jade Berson, S. Adams","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1017","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has had a profoundly negative impact on people all over the world, particularly those with disabilities such as autism. However, there are gaps in research understanding the impact of COVID-19 on this population and the support required.Aim: To explore the evidence available on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on caregivers of children with autism.Method: A scoping review methodology using the Arksey and O’Malley framework was employed. Five electronic databases from March 2020 to December 2022 were reviewed. Two thousand two hundred and six articles were retrieved with primary search terms: caregivers (population), autism (diagnosis) and COVID-19 (context). Following the screening of titles, abstracts and articles, 36 articles were included in the final review. Thematic and content qualitative analysis was completed.Results: Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guided the reporting of the findings. Three main themes were identified: (1) caregiver’s mental health and wellbeing, (2) response to remote health care and support and (3) caregiver resilience.Conclusion: The pandemic affected children with autism and their families regarding changes in routine, difficulties with support and emotional states. However, little research has been conducted on the impact in upper-middle-income countries such as South Africa.Contribution: The findings from this review carry practical implications that extend beyond the pandemic, such as political instability or natural disasters that may present similar stressors for children with autism and their families. ","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141827205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Awareness, attitudes and perceptions of students towards leisure noise in Durban, South Africa.","authors":"Husna Mahomed, Seema Panday","doi":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1040","DOIUrl":"10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1040","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong> Young adults are exposed to high noise levels in leisure venues, which increases their risk of hearing loss, and can affect their quality of life.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong> The aim of this study was to describe the young adults' awareness, attitudes and perceptions towards leisure noise at a university in South Africa.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong> A descriptive cross-sectional study design with quantitative methods of data was considered for this study. Students from first to fourth years in the Education Department of a local university in Durban, South Africa, who were aged 18 years old - 25 years old were invited to participate in an online survey.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong> Of the 462 participants, most had a general awareness on noise and hearing loss but lacked knowledge on the negative effect of loud noise, with 95.2% using personal listening devices, followed by visiting restaurants and gyms, and 48.3% being unsure if noise can damage hearing permanently. They were unaware of methods to reduce their exposure to noise. A significant relationship between awareness of noise and attitudes (p = 0.029) indicated that the higher the level of awareness regarding leisure noise, the better their attitude and behaviour, thus the lower the risk of hearing loss.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong> The results highlight the need for implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) noise regulations and providing education for this age group to prevent irreversible hearing loss through exposure to leisure noise.Contribution: A national study is recommended to increase research evidence.</p>","PeriodicalId":44003,"journal":{"name":"SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11220039/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141471442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}