Stakeholder Perspectives on Ear and Hearing Health Service Provision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children

Objective: Ear disease and hearing loss are largely preventable; however, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience some of the highest rates globally. National and state guidelines recommend involving Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners (AHWP) in ear and hearing screening, but no investigation has been conducted into stakeholder perspectives on their role.  

Setting, Participants and Design: Key stakeholders involved in ear and hearing screening participated in semi-structured interviews via teleconference to explore their views on current screening processes, AHWP engagement and strategies for improvement. 

Results: Thirteen stakeholders participated. Five themes were identified: (i) a fragmented, short-sighted and inconsistent system; (ii) confusion around scope of practice; (iii) workforce capacity; (iv) community awareness and knowledge and (v) service provision and utilisation. Strategies for improvement included strengthening workforce capacity, implementing a family friendly approach (e.g., no age limits), dedicated ear health champions to facilitate timely and appropriate follow-up and the potential role for technology in the ear health pathway. Stakeholders also advocated for the need for community education to raise awareness of the impacts of poor ear and hearing health. 

Conclusions: This study describes the current state of ear and hearing health services for Aboriginal children and provides insights into improving ear and hearing screening programmes.