TY - JOUR
T1 - Global use and outcomes of the hearWHO mHealth hearing test
AU - de Sousa, Karina C.
AU - Smits, Cas
AU - Moore, David R.
AU - Chada, Shelly
AU - Myburgh, Herman
AU - Swanepoel, De Wet
N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Harry Oppenheimer. Funding Information: The first author receives support from the Skye Foundation. The third author receives support from the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the uptake, user characteristics, and performance of the free WHO smartphone hearing screening test (hearWHO) as a global hearing health promotion initiative. Method: We retrospectively examined the data of 242 626 tests conducted by adults (> 18 years) on the hearWHO app between February 2019 and May 2021. Test uptake was evaluated by country, WHO world region, test date, and demographics of age and gender. Results: The hearWHO test was completed in nearly every country globally (n = 179/195), with the greatest uptake seen in China and India. Uptake was greatest in the Western Pacific (32.9%) and European (24.8%) WHO regions. There was a high uptake of tests (44%) by young adults under the age of 30 years. Referral rates were typically higher for older age groups in most WHO regions, except for the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, where overall hearWHO test uptake was lowest. Most testing (49%) took place in March (2019–2021) coinciding with World Hearing Day (3rd of March) each year. Conclusions: Digital mhealth tools provide many benefits in healthcare, including health promotion, access to information, and services for hearing loss. The hearWHO test was mainly reaching younger adults, positioning it as an important measure for public health advocacy to prevent hearing loss. Since hearing loss is primarily age related, more targeted campaigns or community-based initiatives should be directed toward older adults.
AB - Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the uptake, user characteristics, and performance of the free WHO smartphone hearing screening test (hearWHO) as a global hearing health promotion initiative. Method: We retrospectively examined the data of 242 626 tests conducted by adults (> 18 years) on the hearWHO app between February 2019 and May 2021. Test uptake was evaluated by country, WHO world region, test date, and demographics of age and gender. Results: The hearWHO test was completed in nearly every country globally (n = 179/195), with the greatest uptake seen in China and India. Uptake was greatest in the Western Pacific (32.9%) and European (24.8%) WHO regions. There was a high uptake of tests (44%) by young adults under the age of 30 years. Referral rates were typically higher for older age groups in most WHO regions, except for the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, where overall hearWHO test uptake was lowest. Most testing (49%) took place in March (2019–2021) coinciding with World Hearing Day (3rd of March) each year. Conclusions: Digital mhealth tools provide many benefits in healthcare, including health promotion, access to information, and services for hearing loss. The hearWHO test was mainly reaching younger adults, positioning it as an important measure for public health advocacy to prevent hearing loss. Since hearing loss is primarily age related, more targeted campaigns or community-based initiatives should be directed toward older adults.
KW - Public health disease
KW - apps personalized medicine
KW - connected care personalized medicine
KW - digital health general
KW - eHealth general
KW - internet general
KW - mHealth psychology
KW - self-efficacy personalized medicine
KW - smartphone media
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85138721027&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36118254
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138721027&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221113204
DO - https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221113204
M3 - Article
C2 - 36118254
SN - 2055-2076
VL - 8
JO - Digital health
JF - Digital health
ER -